Scarborough began: “…for Al Gore and Bill Clinton to say it`s causing flooding and causing hurricanes and it may have caused Hurricane Katrina, that`s just ridiculous, isn`t it. There is no proof of that, is there?”
Stossel responded:
“No. And the serious scientists scoff at that. The warmer water can encourage hurricanes, but they run in cycles. But the alarmists always want you to think it`s man`s fault so you will turn your life over to them and they can tell you what to do.”
Scarborough responded: “I remember being warned in Florida five years ago about the next cycle, that from 1900 to 1945, we didn`t have a lot of hurricanes. We had a lot of hurricanes and it slowed down for the next 60 years and they said there is a time where the water will heat up again and yet the A.P, other news agencies seem to give Al Gore a free pass.”
Scarborough then hit the nail right on the head:
“A lot of my friends will be angry with me and say Scarborough, you are denying that global warming exists. I am not denying that at all, but why is it that we live in a country where somebody like Al Gore and a political elite in Washington, DC and New York and L.A. can go out and say this is the fact. If we don`t turn things around in 10 years, we are going to boil the icecaps are going to flood, Manhattan is going to be under water and Florida is going to be under water. You cannot find scientists who believe that.”
Stossel accurately and comically responded:
“They are much more skeptical, but the alarmists always get the news. I`ve covered this over the years. Killer bees were going to get us, SARS, anthrax, mad cow disease, saccharin, Nutrasweet, scares one after the other. Cell phones are going to give you brain cancer. Everyone was convinced about that. We just like to be scared. It`s why we go to horror movies and now we believe Al Gore and global warming.”
At the end of the discussion, which eventually included Tyson Slocum of “Public Citizen,” Stossel got the last word:
“Let me just say that this, at bottom is a hatred of capitalism and a hatred of industrial production. Yes, it`s true, we produce more carbon dioxide, but we are also the cleanest country in the world. As we get wealthier, the air gets cleaner and we can afford to do things that maybe some day if the globe is warming we have to make adjustments, it`s our wealth that will allow us to save the world. If we let these socialists control our lives, we will be worse off.”
Amen. What follows is a full transcript of this segment, and a little scratchy video link courtesy of Crooks and Liars.
SCARBOROUGH: With me now to talk about it, John Stossel, he is a correspondent, of course, at ABC News and co-anchor of "20/20," he is also author of the still best selling book, "Myths, Lies and Downright Stupidity" and John I checked the amazon.com and "New York Times" and that book is selling like hot cakes.
JOHN STOSSEL, ABC NEWS ANCHOR: Good. Maybe this will help.
SCARBOROUGH: You talked about global warming in there. I tell you where I come from. I always tell my viewers I believe in global warming. I think it`s happening. Fine.
But at the same time for Al Gore and Bill Clinton to say it`s causing flooding and causing hurricanes and it may have caused Hurricane Katrina, that`s just ridiculous, isn`t it. There is no proof of that, is there?
STOSSEL: No. And the serious scientists scoff at that. The warmer water can encourage hurricanes, but they run in cycles. But the alarmists always want you to think it`s man`s fault so you will turn your life over to them and they can tell you what to do.
SCARBOROUGH: By the way, when you talk about it going in cycles, meteorologists, scientists all say that. I remember being warned in Florida five years ago about the next cycle, that from 1900 to 1945, we didn`t have a lot of hurricanes. We had a lot of hurricanes and it slowed down for the next 60 years and they said there is a time where the water will heat up again and yet the A.P, other news agencies seem to give Al Gore a free pass.
Why?
STOSSEL: They do and I went to the movie this weekend and my wife and daughter, they just believed every word. Oh, my gosh, this is really happening.
SCARBOROUGH: My sons are, you know, trying to drag me to see it.
STOSSEL: And it`s possible, but he cherry picks information and you`re right, the press is giving him a free ride.
SCARBOROUGH: The Republican senators sent a press release saying the Associate Press has made the claim that this passes muster with all the scientist that is saw the film. That`s not the case either, is it?
STOSSEL: I`ve talked to the scientist and Al Gore implies that the argument is over. There no skeptics. There no skeptics and the global warming, the globe is warming but climate changes. Is man doing it? Is it a crisis? Would Kyoto do any good? No.
Even if America signed Kyoto and if every country that did sign it obeyed it which they are not going to do and if China and India were included, which they are not, it would make hardly any difference. Even the proponents of Kyoto admit that.
SCARBOROUGH: Here`s the deal. A lot of my friends will be angry with me and say Scarborough, you are denying that global warming exists. I am not denying that at all, but why is it that we live in a country where somebody like Al Gore and a political elite in Washington, DC and New York and L.A. can go out and say this is the fact. If we don`t turn things around in 10 years, we are going to boil the icecaps are going to flood, Manhattan is going to be under water and Florida is going to be under water. You cannot find scientists who believe that.
STOSSEL: Some do.
SCARBOROUGH: Meteorologists who understand and study this, they don`t believe it, do they?
STOSSEL: They are much more skeptical, but the alarmists always get the news. I`ve covered this over the years. Killer bees were going to get us, SARS, anthrax, mad cow disease, saccharin, Nutrasweet, scares one after the other. Cell phones are going to give you brain cancer. Everyone was convinced about that. We just like to be scared. It`s why we go to horror movies and now we believe Al Gore and global warming.
SCARBOROUGH: I`m telling you, those killer bees are coming. That`s my prediction. They will be here. I have been waiting since 1977. Let`s bring in Tyson Slocum. He is Public Citizen`s director of energy program, Tyson, jump in and get us, buddy. Where are we wrong?
TYSON SLOCUM, PUBLIC CITIZEN: You are wrong on everything. I cannot believe how irresponsible these comments are coming from Mr. Stossel.
With all due respect, in November the Republican chairman of the House Science Committee asked the National Academy of Sciences to settle this global warming debate once and for all and two weeks ago the National Academy of Scientists with the best scientists available in the United States put together a report that conclusively proved that the global warming is real. That we have the highest temperatures in the last 25 years over the last 400 year years of recorded temperature history and that these rising temperatures are the direct result of man-made developments.
This is the National Academy of Sciences. I asked all the viewers out there to do a Google search and go to the National Academy of Sciences report. The misinformation campaign by the Luddite skeptics is the most irresponsible misinformation campaign since weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
SCARBOROUGH: Are you a Luddite?
SLOCUM: Absolutely not. And this whole thing about Senator Inhofe in the Science Committee in the United States Senate saying that Al Gore`s movie is ridiculous, that is also very irresponsible. He is bought off by the oil and coal industry. The Republicans on that committee that issued that press release criticizes Gore.
STOSSEL: This is the usual smear. Anybody who disagrees and is bought off by the oil and coal industry.
SLOCUM: It`s true.
STOSSEL: I would like to see the payment.
SCARBOROUGH: Tyson, I haven`t gotten a dime. In fact, all I do is kick around and I have you on the show and I spend most of my time kicking around oil companies and talking about alternative fuels and talking about how our energy policy is stupid. John, respond.
STOSSEL: Well, my earpiece fell out so I missed part of what he said, but the National Academy of Sciences report said we can`t rule out that this is just natural. I wish people would look it up and read the whole thing instead of the summaries of the liberal media.
SLOCUM: They conclusively said it was man-made.
STOSSEL: They said we think man made. Man is contributing to this, but we don`t know. We can`t rule out that these are all natural influences.
SCARBOROUGH: And Tyson, isn`t that again, you heard the beginning of this conversation with both John and I believe there is global warming, we just think Al Gore and others are being alarmists about it.
SLOCUM: There is no alarmists that the facts that are on the ground here. The fact is that NOAA in the federal government has shown that there is conclusive evidence that the tropical waters are getting warmer as a result of global warming and while that doesn`t lead to more hurricanes, what it leads to is more intense hurricanes .
SCARBOROUGH: We see these Al Gore shot shots of Manhattan being submerged by water and South Florida being submerged. Should we not book any vacations in South Beach 10 years?
SLOCUM: These things are not going to happen over night. It`s going to take time. And there is still time at the federal level to start changing our policies and the fact I is that a year ago .
STOSSEL: What would those be? Those changed policies -- Gas should cost maybe $10 a gallon?
SLOCUM: Absolutely not. We need to stop subsidizing fossil fuels.
STOSSEL: You are right. That`s corporate welfare and it`s disgusting.
SCARBOROUGH: And we all agree with you on that.
STOSSEL: That`s a tiny amount of money.
SLOCUM: Absolutely. So what we need to end the subsidies to the oil and coal industry and start investing in renewable energy and mass transit.
STOSSEL: That`s going to make any difference?
SLOCUM: Of course it`s going to make a difference.
SCARBOROUGH: I think we already -- isn`t the problem in the end, though, Tyson, even if America does that, even if Great Britain and the western powers do that, you have China and India and these developing country that is don`t have any environmental regulation regulations and the polluting coming from that region is going to dwarf what the United States puts out.
SLOCUM: Actually, China just implemented stronger full economy standards than the United States. So China is starting to understand it. They are starting to understand the ravages that there heavy reliance on coal is.
I am not holding up China as a model of environmental activism, but what the reality is that the United States with less than five percent of the world`s population contributes to 25 percent of the world`s carbon dioxide emissions. China, with a billion and a half people contributes 14 percent. So what we clearly need international cooperation and we cannot deny .
STOSSEL: Sounds like socialism to me.
SCARBOROUGH: All right. John, I will give you the final word to clear up the myths, the lies, the downright stupidity that Al Gore and others may be giving Americans.
STOSSEL: That took me 300 pages in the book in the book. Let me just say that this, at bottom is a hatred of capitalism and a hatred of industrial production. Yes, it`s true, we produce more carbon dioxide, but we are also the cleanest country in the world.
As we get wealthier, the air gets cleaner and we can afford to do things that maybe some day if the globe is warming we have to make adjustments, it`s our wealth that will allow us to save the world. If we let these socialists control our lives, we will be worse off.
SCARBOROUGH: All right. We will have to leave it there. Every time Tyson comes on he gets called a Marxist.
STOSSEL: Jim Kramer called him that.
SCARBOROUGH: A socialist. Tyson. Thank you so much. I appreciate you being with us. I will agree with you next time you are on the show. John Stossel, thank you so much. John, again, he author of "Myths, Lies and Downright Stupidity. Thanks for being with us.
