In 2009, as congressional Democrats tried to advance a cap-and-trade system to address the climate crisis, then-Rep. John Shimkus made a memorable argument during a House committee hearing. Reducing carbon emissions, the Illinois Republican said, was a bad idea because it would mean “taking away plant food from the atmosphere.”
A year later, then-Sen. Kit Bond pushed a similarly misguided claim. “Without carbon, my trees would die,” the Missouri Republican said. “Carbon occurs naturally.”
At the time, GOP officials and industry lobbyists successfully pushed back against Democratic efforts — which, had they been enacted at the time, would’ve left the world in a better position now. Nevertheless, 15 years later, the deeply unfortunate talking point apparently hasn’t gone away.
Lee Zeldin: "They say that climate change endangers public health. You have many on the left who will say carbon dioxide is a pollutant, and they won't talk about the all of the many reasons why carbon dioxide is actually quite essential for life here on our planet."
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar.com) 2025-07-23T20:48:25.434Z
During an interview with a conservative media outlet, Republican former Rep. Lee Zeldin, the Trump-appointed head of the Environmental Protection Agency, argued this week, “You have many on the left who will say carbon dioxide is a pollutant, and they won’t talk about all of the many reasons why carbon dioxide is actually quite essential for life here on our planet.”
The New York Times recently noted that the EPA chief, who wasn’t considered especially radical during his congressional career, has evolved into a “full MAGA warrior,” and this quote helps demonstrate the point.
What struck me as amazing about Zeldin’s comment is the degree to which an EPA administrator should know better.
For one thing, no one is talking about banning carbon dioxide. The point, rather, is that as people pump too much carbon pollution, it creates a planetary environmental crisis. For another, the concept of “too much of a good thing” really isn’t that difficult to understand. Medicines can be incredibly powerful medicinal tools, but too much medicine can do dramatic harm. Giving people access to water is a good thing, but giving people too much water too quickly can be life-threatening. With this in mind, Zeldin is correct that carbon dioxide is essential for life on Earth. But despite what he told a national television audience, too much carbon dioxide does enormous damage. The larger question is simple: Does the head of the EPA genuinely not understand this, or did Zeldin pretend to be foolish to advance a political agenda and avoid getting fired?
Steve Benen is a producer for "The Rachel Maddow Show," the editor of MaddowBlog and an MS NOW political contributor. He's also the bestselling author of "Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans' War on the Recent Past."
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