CNN's Marciano to Obama: 'Let's Park the Jumbo Jet' for Earth Day

April 22nd, 2009 4:36 PM

Hinting at but not explicitly charging President Obama with eco-hypocrisy, CNN weatherman Rob Marciano chided the chief executive for flying out to Iowa and back just for one Earth Day speech. Marciano took to the camera shortly after 10 a.m. EDT for a weather report. His comments came on the heels of Heidi Collins describing Obama's agenda for marking Earth Day [audio available here]:

ROB MARCIANO, CNN meteorologist: Is that the 747 Air Force One I see on the tarmac getting ready to go fly to Iowa for Earth Day?

HEIDI COLLINS, CNN anchor:  Yup.

MARCIANO: I mean, it's a pretty big carbon footprint just to make a speech in front of a windmill.

COLLINS: Yup.

MARCIANO: C'mon, let's park the jumbo jet, just for Earth Day, Mr. President.

As if to prove the good Lord has a sense of humor, Marciano was about to give a weather report on snow in parts of Wisconsin:

COLLINS: Some of you may not be able to enjoy Earth Day outside when it's icy cold and blowing snow. Rob Marciano, you do realize it's almost May. What's the deal?

MARCIANO: Well, some places, you know, have to deal with that.

[...]

MARCIANO: Alright, forget about Earth Day, they're saying this is snow day yesterday in Wisconsin...

We at NewsBusters have noted how Marciano has been skeptical of the more radical claims of adherents of anthropocentric global warming. For example, in October 2007, Marciano noted that there were "definitely some inaccuracies" in Al Gore's "An Inconvenient Truth," namely as Marciano put it, "this implication that Katrina was caused by global warming."