In a recent interview with the Fox Business Network, Bill Nye (yes, the Science Guy) explained to host Charles Payne that Al Gore's recent comments on the need for climate change discourse may not be far off point, especially when one considers the science behind it all.
The clip, available on Media Matters, aired just after Hurricane Irene had passed the East Coast of the U.S. It is from a segment of the show "Freedom Watch," discussing a link between climate change and extreme weather.
At the beginning of the clip, Payne mentions a Newsweek article from May that suggests extreme weather is the “new normal” because of climate change.
When asked if Irene was “proof of global warming,” Nye patiently explained that it is likely “evidence” for or “a result of” global warming. He added that the climate modeling needed to actually determine this will take at least several months, but he seemed confident of what the results would be.
Payne also asked Nye if there was any science behind the post-Katrina prediction that extreme weather would only increase in the coming years. Nye replied, “Well there's a lot more science behind it than saying it's not.” He suggested that the six years since Hurricane Katrina is a relatively short period of time to see a definite trend emerge.
Jeff Masters, a meteorologist with Weather Underground told HuffPost's Lynne Peeples in a previous interview, "Sea levels around New York have gone up 13 inches over last hundred years ... the five foot wall protecting Manhattan is one foot less able to keep water out than it was a century ago. This is going to be a kind of wake-up call for New York City: It's the first time they're going to have to evacuate from Zone A, and it's not going to be the last."
After showing a clip of Al Gore's recent comments about confronting climate deniers, Payne asked Nye whether it helped climate change believers “to always bring in things like racism” or if it “denigrate[s] anyone who might just have an inkling that maybe this stuff doesn't exist.”
Nye responded that after measuring temperatures worldwide, “you can't disagree” with the fact that the world is getting warmer. He also argued that, “when you learn the science of climate change, in my opinion, you will find it quite compelling. And you will want to do something about it, rather than pretend it doesn't happen.”
Payne thanked Nye, but said he was “confusing some of the viewers.”
Many other Americans seem to agree with Bill Nye and have decided not to pretend it doesn't happen. Actress Daryl Hannah is now among nearly 600 people, including environmentalists, religious leaders and ordinary Americans, who have been arrested in front of the White House since August 20 for protesting the proposed Keystone XL pipeline. Tar Sands Action leader Bill McKibben said it may be "the largest collective act of civil disobedience in the history of the climate movement."
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