Del. Hargrove Compares Asteroids, Climate Change

Del. Frank D. Hargrove Sr., a Republican from suburban Richmond, apparently doesn't believe in the phrase "think globally, act locally."

At a House Rules Committee hearing today, Hargrove couldn't understand why Dels. David L. Englin (D-Alexandria) and Kenneth R. Plum (D-Fairfax) sponsored a bill to create a permanent commission to study climate change.

"Virginia is a small dot on the map," Hargrove said. "When you look at the entire universe, what advantage do we have to duplicate what the federal government and what international organizations are already doing?"

Englin said states are taking the lead in addressing the issue because the federal government is not doing their part.

"We have a significant population and a significant economy and therefore a potential significant impact on this issue," Englin said.

Hargrove, who turns 82 this week, responded by giving delgates a lecture on the geological history of his farm in western Hanover County.

"About 8 million years ago, the glacier came right on my farm, what on earth did we do in Virginia to cause that, that is before we had internal combustion engines and so forth. It doesn't make any sense." Hargrove said. "We might as well be studying asteroids that will come hit us."

After Hargrove spoke, the Republican-controlled Rules Committee voted along party lines to indefinitely delay a vote on the bill, effectively killing it.