Speaking to supporters in Ohio on Monday, Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum took up the issue of global warming, saying the issue was based more in politics than in science.
Mr. Santorum, who has surged to front of the Republican field, told voters in eastern Ohio on Monday that science is on the side of those who want to aggressively produce more oil and natural gas in America. He said the notion of global warming is not climate science but “political science.”
The Pennsylvania Republican’s comment follows an earlier criticism leveled by his campaign at the Obama administration over its energy policy.
Although Mr. Obama has disappointed many in the environmental movement, and has expressed support for the controversial practice of hydraulic fracking for oil in shale rock, Mr. Santorum has repeatedly said the Obama administration is led by “radical environmentalist.”
Two days ago, Mr. Santorum was quoted as saying that Obama adheres to “some phony theology,” remarks that were interpreted by some as an attack on the president’s faith. Mr. Santorum has since explained that he was referring to Mr. Obama’s views on the environment, which, he said, put more importance on the earth than on humanity.
Appearing on CBS News’s “Face The Nation,” Mr. Santorum made it clear that his “phony theology” comment was not regarding religion, but actually was a reference to the president’s environmental “agenda.”
“I wasn’t suggesting the president’s not a Christian. I accept the fact that the president is a Christian,” said Mr. Santorum. “I was talking about the radical environmentalists. That’s what I was talking about. Energy, this idea that man is here to serve the Earth, as opposed to husband its resources and be good stewards of the Earth. And I think that is a phony ideal. I don’t believe that that’s what we’re here to do – that man is here to use the resources and use them wisely, to care for the Earth, to be a steward of the Earth, but we’re not here to serve the Earth.”
