On her 2:00 p.m. ET hour show on Wednesday, MSNBC anchor Katy Tur predictably exploited Hurricane Florence to push the left’s climate change agenda and condemn “deniers” in the Trump administration. She brought on liberal environmental activist Bill Nye and ex-Clinton administration official Paul Bledsoe to provide even more alarmist rhetoric.
“President Trump says FEMA is ready for Hurricane Florence, but mounting evidence suggests it could incredibly difficult to deal with this disaster if climate change deniers are on the front lines of emergency response,” Tur proclaimed at the top of the segment. She then touted a new study “echoing the findings of previous research showing climate change as the cause of warmer ocean conditions that produce fast, intensifying storms like Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria.”
Tur fretted over the White House policy agenda:
But where does the Trump administration stand on climate change? Well, just yesterday, President Trump rolled back Obama-era mandates blocking rogue methane leaks from and oil and gas wells. Last month, the EPA weakened a rule limiting carbon dioxide pollution from coal-fired power plants. And in July, the agency reduced regulations capping greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles. These rules were all part of Obama’s three-part strategy for combating climate change.
The host turned first to Nye, who climbed atop his usual climate change soapbox:
And the reason people in mainstream science associate a storm like this with climate change is because the sea surface is at least one degree Celsius warmer than it was 30 years ago....Now, I look forward, of course, to all the hate tweets. It’s gonna be great. About how a guy who took a lot of physics can’t possibly read a graph. I got all that. But everybody, this is not in anybody’s best interest to continue to deny climate change.
Moving on to Bledsoe, former Communications Director for the Clinton White House Climate Change Task Force and current Strategic Advisor of the Progressive Policy Institute, Tur eagerly promoted his theory that climate change “deniers” would soon recant their heresy: “You believe that because of this, climate deniers – and we do have certain climate change deniers in this administration right now – will be forced to reverse themselves because in order to mitigate all the costs from these storms, you’re going to have to accept it and do preparations to prepare for them, right?”
Bledsoe lectured: “That’s right, Katy. I mean, last year alone, the extreme weather events, made worse by climate change, cost the economy $350 billion....And Donald Trump and other Republicans who are denying climate change are on the wrong side of public safety, of economics, and of history.” He further admonished: “And unfortunately, we’re gonna see more and more of these extreme, costly, and threatening to public health and safety events until we begin to reduce our emissions.”
Tur wrapped up the segment by again calling into question the fitness of Trump administration officials to respond to any weather-related disasters: “Yeah, it does make you wonder, how can you adequately prepare for storms, for extreme weather, for fires, for hurricanes, for tornadoes, for flooding, for wild swings in temperature, which we’ve seen here in New York City the past week, if you have a bunch of people who don’t believe in climate science running things?”
Earlier in the day, MSNBC repeatedly looked for opportunities to politicize the incoming storm, blasting President Trump with personal attacks and pestering FEMA Director Brock Long with Democratic Party talking points.
Here are excerpts of Tur’s September 12 discussion with Nye and Bledsoe:
2:36 PM ET
DONALD TRUMP: The safety of American people is my absolute highest priority. We are sparing no expense. We are totally prepared, we’re ready. We’re as ready as anybody’s ever been.
KATY TUR: President Trump says FEMA is ready for Hurricane Florence, but mounting evidence suggests it could incredibly difficult to deal with this disaster if climate change deniers are on the front lines of emergency response. A new study from the Princeton University and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, is echoing the findings of previous research showing climate change as the cause of warmer ocean conditions that produce fast, intensifying storms like Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. In fact, NOAA is now warning that the waters ahead of Hurricane Florence are roughly three degrees Fahrenheit above average.
But where does the Trump administration stand on climate change? Well, just yesterday, President Trump rolled back Obama-era mandates blocking rogue methane leaks from and oil and gas wells. Last month, the EPA weakened a rule limiting carbon dioxide pollution from coal-fired power plants. And in July, the agency reduced regulations capping greenhouse gas emissions from automobiles. These rules were all part of Obama’s three-part strategy for combating climate change.
Joining me now to discuss, host Bill Nye Saves the World, and the science guy himself, Bill Nye. And former Communications Director for the Clinton White House Climate Change Task Force, Paul Bledsoe. He’s currently the Strategic Advisor of the Progressive Policy Institute.
(...)
2:38 PM ET
BILL NYE: And the reason people in mainstream science associate a storm like this with climate change is because the sea surface is at least one degree Celsius warmer than it was 30 years ago. And reckoned in the longer term, since the steam engine was invented, it’s two and a half, three degrees Celsius, three degrees Fahrenheit warmer than it would have been 30 years ago. And this energy, this heat energy in the ocean, drives these storms.
Now, I look forward, of course, to all the hate tweets. It’s gonna be great. About how a guy who took a lot of physics can’t possibly read a graph. I got all that. But everybody, this is not in anybody’s best interest to continue to deny climate change.
(...)
2:42 PM ET
TUR: Let’s show the map of the Atlantic right now. And here are the storms that are forming, Florence, Isaac, and Helene. Also this, the 2018 hurricane forecast from NOAA, nine to thirteen named storms, four to seven hurricanes. Potentially two major hurricanes. That’s a lot of activity, Paul. We’re coming to expect more activity generally year by year. You believe that because of this, climate deniers – and we do have certain climate change deniers in this administration right now – will be forced to reverse themselves because in order to mitigate all the costs from these storms, you’re going to have to accept it and do preparations to prepare for them, right?
PAUL BLEDSOE: That’s right, Katy. I mean, last year alone, the extreme weather events, made worse by climate change, cost the economy $350 billion. Congress had to appropriate $130 billion in special emergency appropriations to deal with these. These are costing taxpayers. The truth is that climate change is a huge public safety menace, and it’s a huge drag on our economy.
And Donald Trump and other Republicans who are denying climate change are on the wrong side of public safety, of economics, and of history.I’m here in California, Jerry Brown just announced that California is going to get 60% of its energy from renewable sources by 2030. I was at an event put on yesterday by the Pisces Foundation, where if we reduce methane rather than increase it, as Trump tried to do yesterday, and other super-pollutants like HFCs, we can reduce warming this century by over a degree Celsius. Now think about how that would correspond in preventing the oceans from getting warmer and preventing the storms from getting out of control.
This is not an environmental issue fundamentally. It’s one of public safety and economics. And unfortunately, we’re gonna see more and more of these extreme, costly, and threatening to public health and safety events until we begin to reduce our emissions.
TUR: Yeah, it does make you wonder, how can you adequately prepare for storms, for extreme weather, for fires, for hurricanes, for tornadoes, for flooding, for wild swings in temperature, which we’ve seen here in New York City the past week, if you have a bunch of people who don’t believe in climate science running things? Gentlemen, thank you very much.
BLEDSOE: Well, you saw this in –
TUR: No, go ahead, Paul.
BLEDSOE: You saw this in Puerto Rico.
TUR: Yeah.
BLEDSOE: That’s right.
(...)
