Ted Turner: If We Don't Prepare For Global Warming We'll Be Extinct

CNN founder Ted Turner said Saturday that if we don't prepare for global warming, we'll be extinct.

In a multi-part interview with CNN Newsroom anchor Fredricka Whitfield, Turner spoke about his own devotion and dedication to environmental causes. 

"Have you altered all your life, all your living so you are what one would call energy responsible?" asked Whitfield. 

"What we really have is a choice whether we want to do the right things from an energy standpoint or the wrong thing," said Turner. 

"And if enough of us choose to do the wrong thing and we don't prepare for global warming and we don't make the changes that we know we should make, then we'll be extinct" (video follows with transcript and commentary): 

FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Have you altered all your life, all your living so you are what one would call energy responsible?

TED TURNER: Yes, yes I am.

WHITFIELD: Tell me about that transition. Was it a difficult one to make?

TURNER: I did it over a period of time over the last 30 years. I've been cutting the lights out for a long time.

WHITFIELD: So how do you convince people, what would you say to those who say, you know what, the way I'm living right now is just fine. I'm happy with the light bulbs I choose. Convince me this is the way I would want to go.

TURNER: Anybody that watches CNN would know pretty well. They would already be convinced, because we've run thousands of stories about it, everything from light bulbs to saving fuel and automobiles to recycling. It's everywhere.

WHITFIELD: Is it the cost that's the barrier?

TURNER: It's the big story of our time.

WHITFIELD: It's the big story, but not everyone is onboard. That's why you're spending time on Capitol Hill and others are lobbying and arguing for it. What's the obstacle?

TURNER: It's a combination of things. There's reluctance on some people's part to cope with change very well, and want things to stay the way they were.

And really what we really have is a choice whether we want to do the right things from an energy standpoint or the wrong thing. And it's our choice.

And if enough of us choose to do the wrong thing and we don't prepare for global warming and we don't make the changes that we know we should make, then we'll be extinct. And when that happens, we'll be sorry, but it will be too late. And I'm trying to avoid that by getting the people to take action now while there's still time.

So, there it is, folks. You better change the kind of light bulbs you use and start driving a hybrid vehicle or our species is doomed.

After all, if the alarmists are right, and temperatures do continue to rise for the foreseeable future, there's absolutely NO WAY homo sapiens could possibly adapt.

That's how fragile we are as a species, you see.

We CAN'T POSSIBLY adjust to changes in temperature despite most people on the planet experiencing roughly 100 degree variances in their highs and lows each and every year.

But Ted's got to be right - he founded CNN, you know.