When last we heard from U.S. Representative Jeff Landry, he was complaining — complaining that too much money was being given to FEMA to counter national disasters without any thought being given to spending cuts to balance out FEMA’s share.

For reference, you should know that the guy comes from New Iberia, Louisiana, which sits about a dozen good stone-throws from the Gulf of Mexico. Prime hurricane territory.

Translation: the guy’s a dick. An elected dick.

So on Earth Day, it wasn’t really a surprise when Landry — who holds a degree in environmental and sustainable resources — downplayed humankind’s impact on the environment:

“What amazes me is the environmental groups believe they hold the answer,” Landry said. “On Earth Day, we should be recognizing that there is a being that is the creator of the Earth and it is not them. Mother Earth has been here a lot longer than them and has weathered a lot more calamities that occurred on this planet way before the human race even exited. To believe that the human race can somehow destroy this Earth is ridiculous.

Which shows that Landry has completely missed the point.

No one believes that the burning of fossil fuels, the release of greenhouse gases, the general public’s unwillingness to recycle, or any other unhealthy habit is going to “destroy this Earth”. We understand perfectly well that Planet Earth is going to weather the storm.

No, what we believe is that the burning of fossil fuels and all those other things are going to destroy humankind — or at least make it a lot more difficult to hang around.

Now look: I’m not perfect on this issue. I drive a car. Heck, I write for auto websites that encourage others to drive and to buy cars and consume gas and all that stuff. I depend on the same electricity that Landry does to light my home, keep me comfortable, and do my job.

But for Jeebus’ sake (and, BTW, if we could get Jeebus out of the discussion, this would go a whole lot smoother), can we please remove partisan politics from the environmental equation?

In case you missed it, here’s a thoroughly interesting three-part series on energy and the environment narrated by one of Jeff’s fellow Republicans, Richard Alley, who is not, in fact a dick. Landry could take some lessons.