On Monday's MSNBC Live with Katy Tur, the show acted as an informercial for Democrats as Tur devoted a segment to environmental alarmists Michael Mann of Pennsylvania State University and Eileen O'Connor of the Rockefeller Foundation.
After Mann advised viewers to "vote for politicians who are willing to do something about this problem," and twice talked up Democrats as the party that "is committed to acting" while the Republican party "has shown it won't," Tur injected: "Remember, it's not just voting for the top of the ticket or your Senator or your Congressman -- it's voting all the way down the ticket for your local elections, your state elections as well."
Host Tur began the segment by noting polling finding that most Americans believe "climate change" is linked to recent catastrophic weather events, and cued up a clip of a young Republican who has bought into the left's environmental agenda:
It's climate day here at NBC News. Nearly three quarters of U.S. adults say that climate change has contributed a lot or some toward recent natural disasters, according to the polling. But while wildfires rage on the West Coast and forecasters resort to the Greek alphabet for names this hurricane season, that acknowledgement remains split along party lines. However, first-time voters say climate change is no longer a partisan issue.
It was not noted that the unusually active hurricane and wildfire seasons have actually been worse in the past.
Then came a clip of a young Republican voter who cited reports of water levels rising in some places as evidence that government must take steps to effect the climate. Tur then brought aboard her liberal guests and began by posing: "What does this election mean for the climate? What decisions will be on the agenda for the next four years that could impact where we are 50 to 100 years from now, or even sooner?"
Mann got right to complaining about the Trump administration pulling out of the Paris Accord to cut carbon emissions, but also argued that it does not go far enough anyway:
And, you know, we are looking at a make-or-break election when it comes to the climate -- when it comes to action on climate. We are barely coming close to meeting our Paris obligations. The fact is, the current administration has threatened to pull out of Paris, but because of the progress we are still seeing at the state level -- at the local level and what companies are doing -- we're coming close to meeting their Paris obligations, but we've got to go well beyond those obligations now if there's going to be any possibility of limiting warming
He soon talked up Democrats as he added: "One of the two parties basically has shown it has no interest in acting on the greatest crisis that we face, which is climate change. The other party has shown that they are committed to bold action."
A bit later, Tur followed up: "Michael, what is the number one tool individuals can use to fight climate change?" leading Mann to allege that voting for the right politicians would effect the climate: "Well, it's their vote, right? We can vote for politicians who are willing to do something about this problem this fall, this November."
He talked up voting for Democrats again as he concluded: "Again, one of the two parties -- the Democratic party -- has shown it's committed to acting and putting forward policies that will shift us. And the other has showed it won't."
Tur responded by voicing agreement and wrapped up the segment:
Remember, it's not just voting for the top of the ticket or your Senator or your Congressman -- it's voting all the way down the ticket for your local elections, your state elections as well. Michael Mann, Eileen O'Connor, thank you so much for joining us today. Let's keep having this conversation that is so critically important,
This MSNBC information for Democrats was sponsored by TD Ameritrade. Their contact information is linked.
Below is a transcript of the relevant portion of the Monday, September 21, MSNBC Live with Katy Tur:
MSNBC Live
9/21/2020
2:50 p.m. Eastern
KATY TUR: It's climate day here at NBC News. Nearly three quarters of U.S. adults say that climate change has contributed a lot or some toward recent natural disasters, according to the polling. But while wildfires rage on the West Coast and forecasters resort to the Greek alphabet for names this hurricane season, that acknowledgement remains split along party lines. However, first-time voters say climate change is no longer a partisan issue.
JOHN OLDS, FIRST-TIME REPUBLICAN VOTER: I don't think it's a partisan issue. I think that there are plenty of Republicans -- there are plenty of Democrats that live, you know, on the banks of a river that has, you know, the water level that has the water level rising. (editing jump) So I don't think that the climate really discriminates who it, you know, who it effects, so it would seem to be that both Republicans, Democrats and independents should really be paying attention to this issue and seeing what we can do to solve it.
TUR: Joining me now, distinguished professor of atmospheric science at Penn State, Michael Mann. He's also the author of The New Climate War, and senior vice president at the Rockefeller Foundation, Eileen O'Connor. Michael, I'm going to start with you. That's a younger voter right there -- you might wonder if it's a generational split among voters when it comes to climate change, at least the Republican voters. What does this election mean for the climate? What decisions will be on the agenda for the next four years that could impact where we are 50 to 100 years from now, or even sooner?
MICHAEL MANN, PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY, Yeah, thanks, Katy, it's good to be with you. And, you know, we are looking at a make-or-break election when it comes to the climate -- when it comes to action on climate. We are barely coming close to meeting our Paris obligations. The fact is, the current administration has threatened to pull out of Paris, but because of the progress we are still seeing at the state level -- at the local level and what companies are doing -- we're coming close to meeting their Paris obligations, but we've got to go well beyond those obligations now if there's going to be any possibility of limiting warming below a catastrophic, one and a half degree Celsius, nearly three-degree Fahrenheit planetary warming.
So we don't have time to waste, and the current administration is trying to dismantle the policies that have already been put in place to deal with this problem. We've got to build on those policies. One of the two parties basically has shown it has no interest in acting on the greatest crisis that we face, which is climate change. The other party has shown that they are committed to bold action.
(...)
TUR: Michael, what is the number one tool individuals can use to fight climate change?
MANN: Well, it's their vote, right? We can vote for politicians who are willing to do something about this problem this fall, this November. And, you know, the fact is, there are lots of individual actions that we can take part in to reduce our, you know, personal carbon footprints, recycling, using, you know, switching to reusable energy. There are so many changes in behavior that can help out, but if we are going to see the large-scale, collective change in behavior that we need to see -- the transition away from fossil fuel-burning to clean green energy, we need policies that will incentivize that shift.
We need a price on carbon -- we need incentives for renewable energy -- we need efforts to deal with the problem at the supply side -- not investing in new fossil fuel infrastructure, pipelines, natural gas exploration. Again, one of the two parties -- the Democratic party -- has shown it's committed to acting and putting forward policies that will shift us. And the other has showed it won't.
TUR: Remember, it's not just voting for the top of the ticket or your Senator or your Congressman -- it's voting all the way down the ticket for your local elections, your state elections as well. Michael Mann, Eileen O'Connor, thank you so much for joining us today. Let's keep having this conversation that is so critically important.
