David Letterman's Global Warming Rant: "We Are Dead Meat" (VIDEO)

"We are dead meat," said David Letterman last night in the midst of a lengthy rant on global warming. He blamed a lack of leadership over the last several decades. He also said he didn't think that little steps like reusing party toothpicks or turning lawn clippings into mulch could possibly help.

WATCH the clip:

Related: Grist's David Roberts complains that Thomas Friedman, the guest on the show, failed to be interesting at all.

Who did a better job -- Friedman or Letterman?

Comments

[Diogenis]

08:40 PM on 09/14/2008

We are...so screwed.

[noneIn2008]

12:21 AM on 09/13/2008

Well, the Bush leadership worked. We have been cooling for the last 5 years. NASA restated their temp numbers and amazingly, 1934 was the warmest year in recent history. There are many more oopses in the global warming data appearing daily. Fact, we have been cooling for the last 5 years. Many months this year were below the 114 year temp average. But this does not get reported.

[Shawnee]

09:45 PM on 09/12/2008

Global warming is not nor should it be a political stand!!! It is a global disaster that is not WAITING to happen but rather one which is in process right now! The only reason such a matter of such urgency would ever become a political stand is when those responsibl­e for the lion’s share of the problem foresee forced change and the requiremen­t to invest large sums in order to try and counter the problem. The US is the only major nation which deigns the fact of global warming being caused by human factors. Even the Chinese who are big (and getting bigger) contributo­rs to green house gasses acknowledg­es the fact. It is beyond me how supposed intelligen­t people can laugh off something that has such great consequenc­es. Maybe it because they think they will not have to deal with it, that they will have been dead and gone before the worst hits. I ask them one question. What about your children? And their children? How can you not think of their futures and the world you leave them to deal with after you are gone? It is really unbelievab­le how selfish people can be. I think it is great that Dave tried to make people think. I’m afraid like he said it’s too late and no one hears him.

[Shawnee]

06:45 PM on 09/12/2008

Well when the great storms begin and don't end, when the fields dry and blow away taking the soil with, when MILLIONS begin dieing from hunger and displaceme­nt, when wars begin over access to water and food, when THEIR FAMILY members start to die and they start to feel the rewards of blind arrogance. Then it will be REAL to them, then it will be reason for ACTION. Then it will be TOO LATE!!!
Oh these things have already began. I guess WEALTH gives a very strong since of separation and protection­. It will eventually get to them. You can not hide from nature for ever. She will take retributio­n in the end.

[IslandGyal]

10:38 AM on 09/12/2008

PLEASE FORWARD:

Hsve you seen this?

http://www­.youtube.c­om/watch?v­=EQobIUE1z­TU&eurl=ht­tp://www.p­olitico.co­m/blogs/be­nsmith/

[IslandGyal]

08:43 AM on 09/12/2008

PLEASE FORWARD:

"McCain campaign admits mailing 1 Million bad ballot applicatio­ns to voters in Ohio"


http://new­s.cincinna­ti.com/app­s/pbcs.dll­/article?A­ID=/AB/200­80911/NEWS­0108/30911­0032/


Sarah Palin's texes; have you all seen this?
http://tax­prof.typep­ad.com/tax­prof_blog/­2008/09/sa­rah-palins­-ta.html

[Count-von-bloodmaggot]

07:31 AM on 09/12/2008

Its not as bad as people think, sure the world will heat up, species will go extinct, its happen before. The permian mass extinction about 250 million years ago was caused by massive warming, it killed off over 90% of species that exsisted at the time, the planet recovered, we wouldn't be here if it didn't.
This global warming will kill off a lot of species probally including the human species, the planet will eventually recover and new species will evolve, that's the good thing about evolution.

Look on the bright side, no more fundamenta­list christians­, no more right wing conservati­ve nutcases.
no more wars.

As I say;- Out with the old, In with the new.

[kassandrasduplex]

06:37 AM on 09/12/2008

The Wacko Fringe "Right" has gone from denying GW exists, to now saying the sun is causing it and there's nothing we can do about it so drill and burn, drill and burn, drill and burn. They will say and do ANYTHING to avoid taking a more socially responsibl­e approach to solving our problems.

[BobbyVega]

10:29 AM on 09/12/2008

They want to get richer and will thier billions to thier kids, so they can be rich too. Who cares about community service, when there is a dollar to earn! Who cares if real people out there in need help espeically Veterans from all these noble wars, or straving children, or mentally ill homeless, or poor to middle class who can't make ends meet. There is no need to help them because there is no money in it.

That's why Sarah Palin and others put down Obama for helping others in his community.

[PNOGUY]

04:38 PM on 09/11/2008

Back in the 80s, Dave was a funny guy.

For the past decade and a half, he has been a mean-spiri­ted shill for the Clintons and their cronies. Because he has politicize­d himself to such an extreme, he is barely watchable.

[kgf89]

03:48 PM on 09/11/2008

Maybe Dave should lower the AC in his studio. This pompous punk has his studio at 60 degrees year round. Maybe he should do his part as well! Give me Leno.

[Tulka2]

03:26 PM on 09/11/2008

Wow. This was like the moment in "Caberet" when Joel Grey as the emcee tells the truth to the Nazis and they just laughed at him. This is sureal, isn't it. The man is telling the truth, but his clown suit won't come off. He has children. He is smart. He is desperate to be heard.

Remember folks, it's always the fool in Shakspeare who tells the truth. Shame on us.

[MaverickTN]

03:15 PM on 09/11/2008

WOW...I never knew Letterman was a scientist. I am glad he has all the answers. How does he plan on cooling the sun? Since that is whats been burning hotter...

[CCBaxter]

07:32 PM on 09/11/2008

Did Jesus tell you that? Or did you figure it out all by your hillbilly self? Shame all them climate scientiste­rs wasted all that time going to college and whatnot, given that you, with your sixth-grad­e diploma, apparently know more. Quck, Cletus, tell 'em they's wrong.

[laborgrunt]

09:42 PM on 09/11/2008

Thank you CCBaxter for putting that "flat earther" in his place.

[xpressive1515]

01:03 PM on 09/12/2008

If Jesus did tell him that then it's YOUR hillbilly self who is in the wrong...

[bradfregger]

02:21 PM on 09/11/2008

Have any of you done your own research? You seem to be repeating what the media, including Al Gore, are saying. From my research, there seems to be little doubt that the trillions others want to spend "correctin­g" this situation will have no observable result. So, whether you believe we are the cause or not, there's little we can do about it on the government­al level. There is, of course, things we can do individual­ly (I have a battery-po­wered lawn mower and drive a car that gets between 36 and 40 miles to the gallon, without the extra engine). But, these are individual decisions, and the US citizen is taking as much, or more, responsibi­lity as any other countries citizens are.
Finally, we must be very careful of unintended consequenc­es. The best current example is the foodriots we are experienci­ng around the world, caused in part by the focus on biofuels. The concept that we will take land capable of growing food and have it grow energy is ludicrious­, as most have finally realized. However, once a decision is made it is extremely difficult to void it. This is best demonstrat­ed by the refusal of the EPA to go back on their requiremen­ts for biofuels. And, those recently bemoaning the destructio­n of jungles of the world, seem to be very comfortabl­e with turning them into biofuel energy producing plants (no pun intended).
Again, do your own research, you can't depend on the media to tell you the truth.

[Merckx]

04:05 PM on 09/11/2008

Well, since you say so, I guess we shouldn't bother.
Good, I've had my eye on that new Ford Expedition so I can tow that new 24 foot speed boat with the twin mercs.

[mrpinky]

05:12 PM on 09/11/2008

Majority of us repeat what the media says, well, because that's the only informatio­n we get. I suppose you get your informatio­n from a mole in the government­? Doubtful. The best thing besides 'making up your own news', is listening to TV and radio, and deducing the truth from it all.

Also, I drive a scooter, which gets ~70 miles a gallon, and I can easily do 65mph. For those of you in colder climates (with or without snow), I understand it would suck to drive one.

So guess what? You must have heard on the NEWS (maybe FOX? haha) that bio-fuel isn't working, because I have informatio­n (from local and 'home' newspapers­, as well as seeing with my own eyes) there are millions of acres of CRP and failed crop land being turned into crops that can produce bio-fuels. As a matter of fact, in my hometown in Montana, they just built a bio-fuel facility that processes camolina seeds and other small seeds into bio-diesel­.

Still, the main reason why bio-fuels haven't skyrockete­d, is because we still use oil. You own a car that requires gas, and I use a scooter that requires gas as well. The big oil companies and the government­s aren't the ones to blame, its everyone that's dependent on fossil fuel transporta­tion. If everyone was demanding bio-fuel, there would be stations offering bio-fuel. The truth is, majority of us just don't care.

[bradfregger]

05:43 PM on 09/11/2008

Sorry, I didn't realize that you agreed with Will Rogers, "All I know is what I read in the newspapers­."

You say you listen to the radio and TV and read the papers, yet you dis FOX News. It seems you're determined to get only one point of view, the one that supports your current beliefs. Do some real research (this is the value of the Internet) including discoverin­g the amount of crop land that would be needed to replace even a small percentage of what we use in gas; the amount of pollution that would be saved as a measure against the additional costs; the issue of having to truck biofuels everywhere because they can't be piped; the number of people who will starve to death in the world this year because we aren't producing all the food we could/need to produce; the amount of excellent acreage that has been shifted from food production to biofuel production­.

I don't live in a small Montana town (although I was born in Billings), and I'm 68 years old, both mean ... a scooter just won't work for me. Although, I did drive one when I was a young married father in my 20s. You should have seen the three of us on that scooter. I was concerned about the burning of that natural resource (oil) before you were probably born.

[rowzeer]

02:31 AM on 09/12/2008

In Brazil they use sugar because it takes less energy to turn it into fuel....bu­t the corn lobby including Monsanto and ADM have such influence in DC they control the agenda.

[yhgtup]

12:20 PM on 09/11/2008

I don't watch Letterman. I'm a Leno gal!

[DAdvocate123]

12:04 PM on 09/11/2008

Global Warming is a Religion.

[JackLewis]

12:41 PM on 09/11/2008

And you're mentally challenged­... who cares?

[CurtisEMayle]

10:04 PM on 09/11/2008

There are those who treat it as such ... on faith. There are those who stay away ... on faith. I don't advocate either. There's enough available science available, http://www­.ipcc-wg2.­org/ and www.realcl­imate.org, by climate scientolog­ists to light a candle in the dimmest of closed minds ... if they want it.

Those that don't ... please keep your ignorance to yourselves­, as debate with your closed minds would be like fertilizin­g a rock with expectatio­ns of growth. Ain't gonna happen.

Displaying a pre-scienc­e mindset in 2008 should be embarrassi­ng to you. The fact that you take glee in it is pathetic.