CNN's Carol Costello told guest Bill Nye "The Science Guy" on Monday
that climate change skeptics are "politicizing this issue" and
"winning." Of course, the two did not admit to the possibility of
man-made climate change believers doing the exact same thing.
"But the people who are politicizing this issue, they seem to be
winning because not much is being done on the issue of climate change
even though President Obama promised that, you know, back in the day,
2008," Costello said.
For his part, Nye continued to scoff at climate change skeptics as he
claimed that "the two sides aren't equal here" and that "tens of
thousands of scientists" are concerned for the environment versus only
"a few people" who are skeptics.
Nye also indirectly plugged for President Obama. "By the way, if you're
a voter, consider taking the -- the environment into account as well as
the economy. Consider including the environment," he pleaded.
"I think the two candidates running for president right now have very
different views about the validity, for example, of science and the
importance of it and what you would do about climate change in the
coming years."
[Video below. Audio here [1].]
Costello issued another liberal lament when she asked "What will it
take for America to be on the same page?" Nye replied that scientists
"chip away at this problem all the time." Apparently on CNN, the
conservatives need to be be won over on the issue, it will just take
facts and time.
Costello did begin the interview by challenging Nye's credentials on
the matter, since he is not a climatologist. "Let's talk about the
political aspect of this, because if you google your name Bill Nye,
you're the kooky guy who doesn't know what he's talking about. I mean,
you're not a climatologist. You want to defend yourself?" she asked in a
rather hostile opening question.
A transcript of the segment, which aired on July 2 on Newsroom at 10:15 a.m. EDT, is as follows:
CAROL COSTELLO: We want to talk more about the weather. It, like
everything else, has become incredibly politicized. That's right, we're
going to talk about climate change. In today's Washington Post, there's a
study conducted by EcoSphere, a peer-reviewed journal of ecologists.
It projected most of North America will witness a jump in the frequency
of wildfires by the end of the century, mostly because of increasing
temperatures.
But this study was done by ecologists, scientists, and will likely be
looked at skeptically. Bill Nye, "The Science Guy," is here to explain
the science behind our weather extremes. Good morning.
BILL NYE, "The Science Guy": Good morning.
COSTELLO: Let's talk about the political aspect of this, because if you
google your name Bill Nye, you're the kooky guy who doesn't know what
he's talking about. I mean, you're not a climatologist. You want to
defend yourself?
NYE: Sure. I can read graphs. And this – there's a couple of things you
can't really dispute. 16 of the last 17 years have been the hottest
years on record. That's – that's just how it is. Now I appreciate that
we want to show two sides of the story, and this is a tradition in
journalism that goes back quite a ways, I guess. But the two sides
aren't equal here. You have tens of thousands of scientists who are very
concerned and you have a few people who are in the business of equating
– or drawing attention to the idea that uncertainty is the same as
doubt. When you have a plus or a minus percentage, that's not the same
as not believing the whole thing at all. And by the way everybody, we
have record high temperatures. We have enormous fires in Colorado. We
had tornadoes in Michigan and Brooklyn. We had a 30-degree temperature
drop in Maryland and Virginia this weekend, in just – in a half-hour.
These are consistent with climate models –
(Crosstalk)
COSTELLO: Well let me ask you this – let me ask you this. Because out
west, there are experts who say part of the problem with these wildfires
is that it's mismanagement of our forests, there hasn't been forests
cleared of brush, for example, and that's why these wildfires have
really spread so quickly. Not necessarily because of the heat.
NYE: Well, I've got to disagree. It is because of the heat ultimately.
Just two years ago it was wet in Colorado, and there was a lot of growth
in forests, and then you can say, well, responsibly you should have
cleared that growth. It's a difficult thing, so then two years later
when it's especially dry and the forest floor gets especially dry and
then there's a lightning strike, the fire is that much more intense than
it would have been.
Now, since this -- you brought it up as politics, to us it's science,
this is a deep concern, and wouldn't you want the United States, I grew
up here, I don't know any better. Wouldn't you want the United States to
be the world leader in addressing climate change and innovating and
energy distribution and storage? Wouldn't you want that?
COSTELLO: But the people who are politicizing this issue, they seem to
be winning because not much is being done on the issue of climate change
even though President Obama promised that, you know, back in the day,
2008.
NYE: Well, I think you're going to have to wait. I mean, I'm not – I
think you're going to have to wait until after the election. By the way,
if you're a voter, consider taking the -- the environment into account
as well as the economy. Consider including the environment. I think the
two candidates running for president right now have very different views
about the validity, for example, of science and the importance of it
and what you would do about climate change in the coming years.
You know, other countries are addressing climate change, but the United
States is the world's largest economy, and by long tradition, whether
it's an iPhone or methods of growing food to feed a lot of people, the
United States has been the world leader in this sort of innovative
technology.
COSTELLO: So what will it take --
NYE: Do you want to keep that up or not?
COSTELLO: What will it take for America to be on the same page? I mean, what will it take?
NYE: Well, we in the science education community chip away at this
problem all the time. We have an enormous population of people in the
United States who don't believe in evolution, the fundamental idea in
all of life science. It would like saying I don't believe in earthquakes
or something. I mean, the analogies are disturbing, but, in other
words, science is a process, and we -- we want everybody to understand
it. And then include science in the way you do your thinking about how
you're going to vote and how you're going to conduct your life, so you
-- you can attack me – people can attack me personally, but it is --
this is the, as I say, 16 warmest years on record over the last 17.
1996 was not one of the warmest because there was a big El Nino, but
that aside everybody I think has a sense that the world – in the United
States anyway, the world is getting warmer. The storms are being – are
stronger than ever, and our ability to respond to them is not especially
good to combine all of these ideas.
COSTELLO: Bill Nye --
NYE: And so the wildfires in Colorado are probably another symptom of the subtle slow change that's happening around the world.
COSTELLO: You threw that "probably" word in which is why people are confused.
NYE: What are you going to do? You can't prove every weather event, but
sooner or later everybody, let's change the world. Let's work together
and make life for future generations as good as it was, for example,
mine. Really, everybody.
COSTELLO: Thank you.
NYE: "Probably" doesn't mean it's all wrong, really. Good morning.
-- Matt Hadro is a News Analyst at the Media Research Center