Where to start with this? Brandon Smith is a Kentucky state senator. He also own a coal mine. He is also a climate change denier, and his proof of why climate change is a hoax is quite obvious:
Mars and Earth Have the Same Temperature
And a succinct quote, just for some flavor:
I will simply point out that I think in academia we all agree that the temperature on Mars is exactly as it is here. Nobody will dispute that.
The Patheos link has some good science discussion, it seems (I really only read the beginning, I don't need a science lesson, but the author does speculate that Mr. Smith is conflating the absolute high temperatures on Mars with an average global temperature).
He owns a coal mine. Convenient he's on Interim Joint Committee on Natural Resources and Environment. Shouldn't owning a coal mine and being on an environmental committee be considered at least the appearance of a conflict of interest?
Phil Plait in Bad Astronomy touches on this is a different context, relating it to the recent tongue lashing the BBC recently got for giving climate denier cranks equal footing with real scientists.
Stop Giving Airtime To Crackpots
EDIT - wanted to embed this video in the Patheos article...which was really from Raw Story:
http://videos.rawstory.com/...