Early on in the pandemic, NBC’s Today show weatherman and climate activist Al Roker was quick to tell viewers that the deadly virus sweeping the globe actually had a “silver lining” in that fossil fuel emissions had declined due to worldwide economic shutdowns that devastated the livelihoods of millions. However, on Wednesday, as the world continued to show signs of gradual recovery amid COVID-19 vaccine distribution, Roker warned viewers to be “worried” about the environment in 2021.
“Well, if there has been one silver lining to the pandemic, in the heart of it, it was we saw a real drop in global emissions,” Roker reminded. He marveled at “The largest drop since World War II, 10%,” and highlighted how different industries were impacted: “...the transportation industry, 40% drop in global emissions. Power industry, 20% drop.”
Roker then feared an ominous dark cloud around that supposed “silver lining”: “But as we’ve come out of this, back in December, we started – and we started to come out, our emissions started going 2% higher than before the pandemic. And we’re worried really about 2021...”
In the early days of the pandemic, Roker was far from alone in trying to spin the global crisis as good news for the environment. CBS This Morning similarly claimed a “silver lining.” In fact, several members of the left-wing media joined the climate chorus, even to the point of suggesting humans were the problem and coronavirus was the solution.
Roker fretting over post-pandemic fossil fuel emissions was brought to viewers by Verizon and Walmart. You can fight back by letting these advertisers know what you think of them sponsoring such content.
Here is a full transcript of Roker’s March 3 climate commentary:
7:44 AM ET
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AL ROKER: Well, if there has been one silver lining to the pandemic, in the heart of it, it was we saw a real drop in global emissions. The largest drop since World War II, 10%. And in fact, if you look at say, the transportation industry, 40% drop in global emissions. Power industry, 20% drop. But as we’ve come out of this, back in December, we started – and we started to come out, our emissions started going 2% higher than before the pandemic. And we’re worried really about 2021, this according to the International Energy Agency.
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