What do you think Ronald Reagan's position would be on global warming?

Question

I'm rather curious about this hypothetical question. We know that many deniers think man-made (anthropogenic) global warming (AGW) is a massive liberal hoax, despite the many conservatives who believe it. So where would Reagan stand?

The Supreme Court ruled that CO2 is an air pollutant under the Clean Air Act, which is a substance

"emissions of which...cause or contribute to air pollution which may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health or welfare"

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/42/7408.html

In other words, they ruled that CO2 causes global warming, which endangers public health. It was a 5-4 decision, the swing vote being Kennedy, who was appointed by Reagan.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Massachusetts_v._Environmental_Protection_Agency

Although, Scalia was one of the dissenting justices, and was also appointed by Reagan.

So just as a purely hypothetical question - where do you think Reagan would stand on AGW, and why?

Answer 1

Like most people, he would want to see scientific proof before committing Trillions of taxpayer $$$.

Answer 2

It depends on the time frame, if it was an election year, he would agree with it.  If it was not, he would not agree with it.  Just like McCain and Obama agreeing with it and as soon as they get into office, they will turn their backs on the supporters of this theory.

Answer 3

My guess is he would have skeptical on the matter,  He tended to believe in people and was not one to play on the fears of people.

Answer 4

One can never really tell, but I would think he would be against the government mandates to limit CO2. I am sure he would be against the government taxation.

As for the supreme court, Kennedy was appointed by Reagan , and has been a disappointment since. He almost always sides on the liberal side of agendas. I am sure if Reagan could do it over, he would never appoint Kennedy. As a matgter of fact, many Republican appointments turn out to be huge disappointments. I thin their screening process has some serious flaws. My guess is Reagan did not really know Kennedy, but was fed information which made him sound better than he really was. I doubt the presidents spend much time following all the judges different rulings.

As for teh ruling, what a load of garbage. So know, CO2, a necessary gas for all life on earth, is proclaimed a pollutant? What kind of ignorant people would say that? Hey, what about water vapor. It is a greenhouse gas, and we know electric cars emit water vapor. Should electric cars be banned?

That ruling is the perfect example of legislating from the bench.

Answer 5

i think he would care about the climate just exactly as much as he cared about giant redwood trees in CA. when he was Governor there.

In case you don't remember he saw NOTHING wrong with cutting down trees that existed before Christ was born.  ( no, it isn't the Christ link that is important, just that that seems amazingly arrogant, to me.)

Answer 6

Reagan was the one who allowed oil to not be regulated by the government, and with the spike in oil prices from many factors but includes the push towards alternative fuels, he would probably be against it if he or any of his friends were invested in oil.

Answer 7

I am quite sure Reagan's position would be similar to mine - that in a free society the individual should be free to do as he pleases as long as it harms no one else, and that the burden of proof as to whether it harms anyone else should be on the person asserting the harm and seeking to limit otherwise free activity, especially productive activity.

Acid rain was proven.     The clouds going west to east weren't acidic, then they passed over the rust belt where the tall smokestacks emitted smoke containing certain chemicals, then the same clouds contained acidic compounds that form when those chemicals combine with water, then those compounds were found in the rain in the Northeast, as well as in lakes and streams in the Northeast.

You don't have that on man-made global warming.

Answer 8

I think he would remind NOAA that it is their job to model and understand climate, and he would tell NASA to stop worrying about climate and ground based temperature stations throughout the world, and dedicate all of their assets to space exploration and aeronautics.

Answer 9

One would hope that Regan as wise as he was would look into the camera and say America Global warming is as real as Santa Claus and the tooth Fairy

Answer 10

Reagan understood the need for theories to be vetted through scientific method and so because the business as usual people have all the evidence that has been tested and verified he would demand that any pro conclusions be put through the vetting process that any accepted theory must pass before he would even look at it.

As he said many times he was a liberal democrat in good standing until his party deserted him to promote a totalitarian socialist agenda. The current republican party is closer to the party of Jefferson and Jackson than the current democratic party that is closer to the movements of Mussolini and Hitler in structure and agenda.

Answer 11

My guess is that Reagan would be solidly in the deniers' camp.  He was no friend of science as President (look into how his administration manipulated the initial findings regarding acid rain) and he did virtually anything big business wanted.

Answer 12

During Nixon's reign, the National Envronmental Policy Act was Passed. During Reagan's administration, the Act (NEPA) began to be watered down, restrictions were lifted and the environment took the back seat. So, that's where he'd be today.

Answer 13

He cared so much about children's health he ordered that ketchup be considered a vegetable in school lunches.   No reason he would change his outlook on the health of the countries future generations.

Answer 14

well he works for the goverment so he doesnt care

Answer 15

One of Ronald Reagan's first actions upon entering the White House was to remove its solar panels. The solar panels had been place by Jimmy Carter in order to signify our nation's desire for alternative energy sources and a commitment to researching new technologies.

Answer 16

He would consult Nancy's astrologer. If Saturn turned out to be in the twelfth house during Easter.. oooh, it would trump every paper ever written on GW. He may have also asked advice from Falwell in between lectures about the end of days at the whitehouse.