Science educator Bill Nye—a television presenter best known as “The Science Guy”—pleaded with Republican lawmakers and Fox News to “cut it out” and stop downplaying the realities of anthropogenic climate change.
During an appearance on CNN, Nye told reporter and commentator Jim Acosta the world will be unable to rectify the consequences of climate change if “we don’t acknowledge there’s a problem.”
Nye’s warning comes after Hurricane Ian, which made landfall in western Florida last week as a Category 4 storm, left at least 80 people dead in the state and caused billions of dollars in damage to property and infrastructure.
You can hear what he said in the video below.
Hear Bill Nye’s message to conservative lawmakers
Nye said:
“If we don’t acknowledge there’s a problem, we’re not going to get it done.” …
“And so I just want to ask conservative lawmakers to cut it out. I understand that you want to get reelected. I understand that you have this primary system which motivates you to get these hardcore conservative voters engaged.”
“But look, you’ve just, just cut it out.”
Although Nye did not mention Fox News or host Tucker Carlson by name, he nonetheless referred to an “infamous, notorious” host of a “competitive, conservative” network that has taken liberties with hurricane data.
Nye said the use of the data was “not an out-and-out lie but it is absolutely misleading.”
Many concurred with Nye’s assessment and praised him for speaking out.
u201cBill Nye is a fantastic and extremely intelligent man.u201d— TOM ud83cuddfaud83cuddf8 ud83cudf0a (@TOM ud83cuddfaud83cuddf8 ud83cudf0a)
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u201cThank you Jim @Acosta for highlighting climate crisis, with @BillNye, while in Florida. This is the first time I have heard the connection made on cable news. You even gave him the time to explain the connection, and to plead with republican lawmakers to act.u201d— Laura Rose (@Laura Rose)
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u201c@BillNye is not just a “Science educator.” He is THE Science Guy…well known and respected for decades. He is speaking truth to power by addressing the Republican science deniers who refuse to acknowledge and proactively combat #ClimateChange.u201d— CivicDuty (@CivicDuty)
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— BKul (@BKul)
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u201cWe start by telling the truth! Climate change is a HUGE problem! We can start by burying power lines. We had a fire last year started by winds downing power lines in the forest. We need to start facing reality or die. https://t.co/Sbyq0DPTiJu201d— Teddy Morgan (@Teddy Morgan)
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u201cWe can collectively do things to make life more bearable for all Americans as we are faced with the reality of climate change. But we have to acknowledge it existsu2014it does & itu2019s not going away. Itu2019s just going to get worse, and more people across the USA and world will suffer.u201d— Mark Ruffalo (@Mark Ruffalo)
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u201cScience is real. Climate change is real, despite attempts to downplay the impact on real people in real life. As Bill Nye so simply says – “Cut it out.” nn#climatechange https://t.co/nXCa3mmTjpu201d— Mary Patry (@Mary Patry)
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u201cIt still baffles me how so-called conservative Republicans make climate change and survival on this planet “political”.nnScience isn’t political.nn#BillNyeIsRightn#ClimateCrisis n#HurricaneIan nnHear Bill Nye’s message to conservative lawmakers https://t.co/enBX9WxHdau201d— ToneNYC (@ToneNYC)
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Republicans have continued, largely through Fox News and other conservative news outlets, to downplay and mislead the public about climate change, which has caused storms like Hurricane Ian to become stronger and deadlier due to warming ocean waters.
Carlson previously hosted climate deniers on his program and claimed the “real” threat to humanity is not global warming but “global cooling.”
Carlson’s claims run counter to the scientific consensus stating human beings are largely responsible for anthropogenic climate change, primarily due to the burning of fossil fuels—like coal, oil and gas—which produces heat-trapping gases.
According to the United Nations (UN), warmer temperatures over time are changing weather patterns and disrupting the usual balance of nature, which poses risks to human beings in the form of hotter temperatures, more severe storms, increased drought, a warming, rising ocean, loss of species, a global rise in hunger and poor nutrition, more health risks such as the spread of diseases like malaria, and increased poverty and displacement.
