Gary Johnson: Fighting Climate Change Is Futile

Libertarian candidate Gary Johnson draws a lot of his support from millennials, and Mother Jones has dug up a clip from 2011 it thinks might give them pause. In an appearance at the National Press Club lunch that year, Johnson explained his "long-term view" of what's going to happen to Earth, and he argued that spending "trillions" of dollars to try to curb global warming is largely a waste of money—because the planet is going to eventually be decimated anyway. We should "take the long-term view when it comes to global warming," he said. "In billions of years, the sun is going to actually grow and encompass the Earth, right?" he said. "So global warming is in our future."

Johnson concedes on his campaign site that the climate is "probably" changing and that humans "probably" have something to do with it, but he's skeptical about environmental regulation. "The debate should be about how we can protect our resources and environment for future generations … rather than needlessly costing American jobs and freedom in order to pursue a political agenda." USA Today cites one survey showing that 75% of millennials believe global warming is a proven fact, suggesting that his reluctance to act on the issue could cost him. (Johnson won't be offering his thoughts on this at Monday's debate.)