As Utah Goes So Goes the World? (February 26, 2010)

Is this item from today's Science the portend of an engulfing trend?

Heated Politics

The fallout from "Climategate" is raining down into state politics. On 9 February, the Utah House of Representatives passed a resolution stating that there is no evidence that the world is warming and urging the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to revoke its "endangerment" ruling that carbon dioxide is a threat to public health.

Apparently referring to the controversial leaked e-mails from a climate center in the United Kingdom (Science, 4 December 2009, p. 1329), the Utah resolution contends that "communications between climate researchers around the globe ... indicate a well organized and ongoing effort to manipulate global temperature data."

Citing the same concerns, the state of Texas on 16 February sued EPA to overturn the endangerment finding. The same day, Virginia's attorney general filed court petitions questioning EPA's ruling.

The Utah resolution, backed by all of the Republican representatives, passed 56 to 17. The bill now goes to the state Senate, which is 72% Republican.