---
title: "Senator: Climate Change Is Fake. Also, Let’s Terraform New Worlds"
description: "Rand Paul's bizarre tweet suggests that we're not creating climate change on Earth, but perhaps we should be on Mars or some exoplanet."
date: "2020-01-22"
modified: "2020-01-22"
authors:
  - name: "Dan Robitzski"
    link: "https://futurism.com/authors/danrobitzski"
url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/senator-climate-change-fake-terraform-worlds"
categories:
  - "Climate Change"
  - "Environment"
  - "Off-World"
  - "Science & Energy"
  - "Space"
tags:
  - "climate change"
  - "environment"
  - "terraforming"
  - "the digest"
---

# Senator: Climate Change Is Fake. Also, Let’s Terraform New Worlds

![Rand Paul's bizarre tweet suggests that we're not creating climate change on Earth, but perhaps we should be on Mars or some exoplanet.](<https://futurism.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/climate-change-fake-terraform-other-planets.jpg>)
*\<em\>Image: Gage Skidmore\</em\>*

## Fascinating Interpretation

According to U.S. Senator Rand Paul, fears of climate change are overblown — but we should also venture out and drastically change the environments of [other planets](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/thousands-years-colonize-mars>) so humanity might settle them.

Paul [tweeted his bizarre stance](<https://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:H9s2G1dAkk4J:https://twitter.com/RandPaul/status/1218634368228503557+&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=ubuntu>) ­on Sunday, after he attempted to roast Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez over her aggressive plans to fight climate change, a move which, as *[HuffPost](<https://www.huffpost.com/entry/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-climate-agenda-gop_n_5e201a17c5b63211760e359e>)*[ reports](<https://www.huffpost.com/entry/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-climate-agenda-gop_n_5e201a17c5b63211760e359e>), backfired spectacularly.

And clapbacks aside, his stance that there's no urgent rush to try and mitigate climate change is troubling given the [exhaustive mountain of evidence](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/doomsday-climate-report-leaders-failed>) to the contrary.

https://twitter.com/RandPaul/status/1218988569949360129

## Ambitious Renovations

In his tweet, Paul linked to a [2018 *Cosmos Magazine* article](<https://cosmosmagazine.com/space/pushing-the-limit-could-cyanobacteria-terraform-mars>) exploring the possibility of using bacteria to create a hospitable atmosphere on Mars.

Multiple researchers have looked into [using bacteria](<https://futurism.com/the-byte/phd-thesis-bacteria-colonize-mars>) to terraform [a new home planet](<https://futurism.com/contaminating-mars-microbes-kickstart-colonization>), but that's a plan for the distant future at best — and not a feasible alternative to protecting and preserving Earth.

Paul also argued that "humans will likely survive for hundreds of millions of years into the future" — and whether or not that's true, it will be much more difficult if we continue to destroy the only habitat we have.

**READ MORE:** [Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez Rips Rand Paul Over GOP’s ‘Spaceballs’ Climate Agenda](<https://www.huffpost.com/entry/alexandria-ocasio-cortez-climate-agenda-gop_n_5e201a17c5b63211760e359e>) \[*HuffPost*\]

**More on terraforming:** *[Contaminating Mars With Microbes Could Kickstart Colonization](<https://futurism.com/contaminating-mars-microbes-kickstart-colonization>)*

## Author
Dan Robitzki is a senior reporter for Futurism, where he likes to cover AI, tech ethics, and medicine. He spends his extra time fencing and streaming games from Los Angeles, California.

### Author social links  
[Twitter](<https://x.com/danrobitzski>)