'I believe the earth gets warmer and I also believe the earth gets cooler,' Rick Santorum said. | REUTERS Santorum: Climate change is 'junk'

Rick Santorum is no Mitt Romney when it comes to global warming science.

Appearing Wednesday on Rush Limbaugh's radio show, the former Pennsylvania GOP senator jumped at the chance to distinguish himself from his Massachusetts rival by displaying his climate skeptic credentials.


"I believe the earth gets warmer and I also believe the earth gets cooler," Santorum said. "And I think history points out that it does that and that the idea that man, through the production of CO2 — which is a trace gas in the atmosphere, and the man-made part of that trace gas is itself a trace gas — is somehow responsible for climate change is, I think, just patently absurd when you consider all the other factors, El Niño, La Niña, sunspots, moisture in the air. There's a variety of factors that contribute to the Earth warming and cooling."

Santorum's remarks contrast with those of Romney, who on Friday told a town hall crowd in Manchester, N.H., that "I believe the world is getting warmer, and I believe that humans have contributed to that."

Limbaugh blasted Romney on his radio show for the remarks. "Bye-bye, nomination," the conservative commentator said.

Later in the program, he turned to Santorum for comment. Unlike Romney and some of the other GOP presidential candidates, the former senator has never backed cap-and-trade legislation or other mandatory policies to curb greenhouse gases.

"To me, this is an opportunity for the left to create — it's really a beautifully concocted scheme because they know that the earth is gonna cool and warm," Santorum said. "And so it's been on a warming trend so they said, 'Oh, let's take advantage of that and say that we need the government to come in and regulate your life some more because it's getting warmer.' Just like they did in the '70s when it was getting cooler. They needed the government to come in and regulate your life because it's getting cooler.

"It's just an excuse for more government control of your life," Santorum added. "And I've never been for any scheme or even accepted the junk science behind the whole narrative."

There is considerable debate about the best climate change policies.

But most scientists are in widespread agreement on the underlying issue. A National Research Council report released last month at the request of Congress had as its key conclusion: "Climate change is occurring, is very likely caused by human activities and poses significant risks for a broad range of human and natural systems."

This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 11:52 a.m. on June 9, 2011.