Greenhouse skeptics - (n.)
"Greenhouse skeptic" is a term commonly applied by the media to both scientists and nonscientists who cast doubt on any or all of the following statements, which have been made by climate scientists: the Earth has been warming during the last 150 years; a substantial portion of that warming results from the addition of greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, especially in the last 50 years; most of the addition of greenhouse gases is from human activities; human activities contribute noticeably (or even substantially) to the observed warming; warming has potentially negative effects on living conditions on the planet, for plants and animals, and people; and policies should be worked out to deal with possible effects of global warming. The most basic approach in greenhouse skepticism is to say that the climate machine is complicated and we don't understand it very well, and therefore many of the above statements remain unproven. A prominent exponent of the "too-complicated-to-say-anything" approach is Prof. Richard Lindzen at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. The most advanced form of greenhouse skepticism is to say that a warm climate is beneficial to human societies, and that carbon dioxide is good for growing food and other plants (i.e. the more the better). A prominent exponent of the "warming-is-good-for-you" approach is Prof. Mikhail Budyko of the Hydrometeorological Institute in Moscow. Budyko thinks Siberia should become a bread basket.