Today in GOP Climate Denial …

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Denying climate change is de rigueur among members of the House Republican caucus. Rarely, though, do you see elected officials engaging in public debates on the science with a scientific organization. But that was exactly what has transpired as Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-Calif.) has taken on the Union of Concerned Scientists in a Twitter war over climate change.

Not that it’s particularly surprising. This is a guy who has argued in a congressional hearing that global warming might have been caused by dinosaur farts.

Here’s the full exchange:

.@danarohrabacher calls #climate change “natural.” There are multiple lines of evidence human activity drives it http://goo.gl/WZsdq #hcsst

@UCSUSA Guess ancient climate cycles, like current one on Mars,which mirrors changes on earth, not product of sun but of human activity

.@danarohrabacher Human warming=fact http://goo.gl/TEAhMMars warming=myth http://goo.gl/jvBD3 Sun outputs don’t=warminghttp://goo.gl/LC0TY

@UCSUSA your answer deceptive: talks Mars warming. Issue is Earth and Mars icecaps shrinking at same time. Coincidence or Solar impact?

@danarohrabacher That’s a red herring about the Red Planethttp://goo.gl/GSq6g Burying your head in the Martian sands puts us all at risk

@UCSUSA U ignore issue: incredible coincidence or solar? Whose head in sand? Read e-mails, U trust your source. Warming has become change

@danarohrabacher You don’t want to understand. Denier talking points aren’t science. Skepticalscience.com covers all this.

@danarohrabacher CA-46 is preparing for climate change. Long Beach sees water supply impact.http://goo.gl/rQQE1 Denial doesn’t help.

Here’s a quick run down of why his arguments—that global warming is caused by the sun, the climate’s changed before, and that Mars is also warming—are all bunk.

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WE'LL BE BLUNT

It is astonishingly hard keeping a newsroom afloat these days, and we need to raise $253,000 in online donations quickly, by October 7.

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Readers also told us to just give it to you straight when we need to ask for your support, and seeing how matter-of-factly explaining our inner workings, our challenges and finances, can bring more of you in has been a real silver lining. So our online membership lead, Brian, lays it all out for you in his personal, insider account (that literally puts his skin in the game!) of how urgent things are right now.

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