Bill Nye, the bow-tie wearing “Science Guy”, who, despite his degree in mechanical engineering, has somehow obtained clout as an expert on anthropogenic climate change, appeared with Americans for Tax Reform president Grover Norquist on Stephanie Ruhle’s program on MSNBC Thursday morning to discuss the ramifications of President Trump’s reported plans to leave the Paris Climate Agreement.
Notwithstanding his avowed commitment to obfuscating biological truths about gender in the name of science/leftism, Nye spoke with unequivocal scientific certainty about humanity’s impending doom:
“Is the climate important to you? Is sea level rise important to you? Is the quality of life of billions of people around the world, as the world's population goes from 7.4 to 9 and 10 billion, is that important to you?”
Nye continued, putting on his “Economics Guy” hat, and claimed that $3 billion in economic costs due to the Paris accord was really “not that much money”:
“So the number on your-- in your document, Mr. Norquist, is $3 billion. $3 billion is what the space station costs, $3 billion is what a very short period of time at war costs, $3 billion is -- is comparable to what it will cost to keep multiple White Houses in business over the next couple administrations. It's a lot of money but it’s not that much money.”
Three billion dollars in artificially incurred costs is, of course, “that much” money, even if Nye believes it isn’t. And for all the talk of the Paris deal as an antidote to impending climate cataclysm, a Heritage Foundation study has shown the agreement’s environmental benefits are tenuous, at best. However, after Ruhle set up a half-baked straw-man caricature of the conservative position on environmental policy for Nye to knock down, Nye seized the moment to inject into his sermon verbal bumper stickers about Trump’s immigration proposal:
“So next week, climate change affects us tomorrow. Climate change affects everyone in the world because we all share the air. You can't build a border wall against carbon dioxide emissions. The time to get to work on this is right now.”
The jury is still out on the efficacy of a border wall on keeping out bow-tied leftism-masquerading-as-science.
Check out the full transcript of the June 1 exchange below:
9:41 AM ET
STEPHANIE RUHLE: In full dramatic style at 3:00 P.M. today this afternoon President Trump will announce his decision on the Paris agreement and an administration official tells NBC News that the President is expected to pull out of the agreement but with some caveats. That official, however, warns that nothing is official until the President speaks. The report comes after late-hour drama with the President fielding final arguments from people on both sides, saying just yesterday he had not reached a decision. I've spoken to people that that said it's anyone's game. Joining me now is Bill Nye the Science Guy, the CEO of the Planetary Society, and Grover Norquist, the President and founder of Americans for Tax Reform.
(...)
9:43 AM ET
RUHLE: Bill Nye, you don't have to be a climate change denier to say maybe the Paris Agreement doesn't work for us. Why is it so important for us to stay in?
BILL NYE: To be a world leader. When you talk about leadership and the future, the future is in renewable energy, what Mr. Norquist called green energy. It's not in fossil fuels. And so you want the United States to be the world leader in those technologies and it's just -- it's a big idea. Is the climate important to you? Is sea level rise important to you? Is the quality of life of billions of people around the world, as the world's population goes from 7.4 to 9 and 10 billion, is that important to you? Or is -- do you want to reckon your policy decisions based on certain statistics captured with respect to keeping current jobs current. In my opinion, Mr. Norquist's analysis ignores completely the three million, at least, new jobs that will be created in renewable energy here in the United States.
(...)
9:45 AM ET
NYE: So the number on your-- in your document, Mr. Norquist, is $3 billion. $3 billion is what the space station costs, $3 billion is what a very short period of time at war costs, $3 billion is -- is comparable to what it will cost to keep multiple White Houses in business over the next couple administrations. It's a lot of money but it’s not that much money. And so when you can think about the future and you think about the future of energy, it is not in fossil fuels and that's ultimately a very important part of the climate agreement but a bigger picture, it's the quality of life of future generations. What are you going to do when people leave Miami, when they leave Galveston when they leave Norfolk, Virginia, because the water is coming. What are you going to do when you have to pay for seawalls in Manhattan and here in Washington, D.C.
RUHLE: Is that the best use of our resources today, to think ain't generations 20, 30, 100 years in the future, when there's people who need jobs and educations and safety today? What about that argument.
GROVER NORQUIST: Can I get in this conversation?
NYE: Are you kidding?
RUHLE: I'm just playing devil's advocate for a minute.
NYE: So next week, climate change affects us tomorrow. Climate change affects everyone in the world because we all share the air. You can't build a border wall against carbon dioxide emissions. The time to get to work on this is right now. Take it, Mr. Norquist.
