CO2 emissions are actually good for mankind and we need more

Dr. William Happer testifies that CO2 emissions are actually good for mankind and we need more

Dr. William Happer is often introduced by supporters as the professor of Physics at Princeton University, and by detractors as Chairman of the George C. Marshall Institute (which was funded by Exxon Moblie).  He gave a controversial testimony on February 25th 2009 Before the U.S. Senate Environment and Public Works Committee stating that: 

“Increasing concentrations of CO₂ in the atmosphere will cause some warming of the earth’s surface... The key question is will the net effect of the warming and any other effects of CO₂ be good or bad for humanity? I believe the increase of CO2 will be good.”[1]

The web movie, "The Obama Deception" uses this testimony as evidence that President Obama is misleading people.

Conspiracy theorists such as Alex Jones of PrisonPlanet.com have since used this testimony to support the theory that Global Warming is a hoax used to control the American people with fear.  Jones produced a popular internet video called the "Obama Deception" in which this thesis is presented.  The video also has Jones repeating an anti-corporation quote falsely attributed to Abraham Lincoln.  The authenticity of this quote has been falsified by this website and many other sources.

But Dr. William Happer's testimony was incredibly flawed for a so-called expert

Happer claims that Earth, during the era "our species evolved", which he strangely (but conveniently for his purposes) puts at 80 million years ago (during the age of the dinosaurs) had many times more CO2 in the atmosphere than it does now, and that, as a result, "we" prospered.

But "we" Archaic Homo sapiens (earliest form of Homo sapiens) evolved in the age of the MAMMALS only around 250,000 years ago.[2]  CO2 levels haven't been this high for well over *twice* the age of our species, or for as far back as our CO2 record goes: 650,000 years.[3]

80,000,000 years ago, by contrast, during the Cretaceous Period, when scientists believe CO2 levels were 3.7 to 14.7 times the modern pre-industrial value of 285 ppm, the climate was very hot. Ice sheets had melted and sea levels were 120m higher than today. This map, published last year in the journal, Science, shows what the world would look like today with sea levels similar to those of 80 million years ago.[4] The dark blue areas would be completely under water.

This would not be "good for mankind".  And we are not living in a "CO2 famine".  

Being skeptical is usually a good thing in science, but being contrarian can often be mistaken for skepticism.  

http://skepdic.com/contrarian.html

"A contrarian is someone who poses as a skeptic, refusing to accept consensus conclusions in science on the ground that there is still some uncertainty.  Rather than demanding we dig deeper in order to clarify issues, the contrarian simply wants to throw dust in people's eyes so they can't see what's really going on. The function of contrarians is to... promote the false notion that "sound science" is science where you can't find a contrary view."  "

Misquote atributed to Dr. Happer by his oppnents

Dr. Happer is not the only one in this debate that has distorted information.  In order to debunk Dr. Happer, many have claimed that Dr. Happer claimed the tempuratures were warmer in the "Pleistocene era".[5]  In fact, Dr. Happer never uses this claim directly.  One of the men questioning him does as can be hear in the video of the hearing:

However, by claiming that the earth was warmer when "our species evolved",  Happer could have meant the Pleistocene era, but he does not name the era he is talking about and indeed, it does not exist.

Sources:

2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Archaic_Homo_sapiens
3. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/may/13/carbonemissions.climatechange
4. http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7282142.stm
6. http://www.eyeblast.tv/public/checker.aspx?v=yd8z4zprSU