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You probably think of men like Bill Nye as mild-mannered, nerdy folk who would rather publish their thoughts on things like climate change, climate science, global warming, et al in dusty journals. It goes without saying, then, that you probably assume those articles are not laced with vulgarity. And articles definitely don’t light things on fire…but that’s exactly where the state of the world has led Bill Nye.
With climate skeptics infesting every corner of the globe – and government – it’s frustrating as hell for those trying to sound the alarm and somehow save the human race from itself.
Nye filmed the segment for Last Week Tonight with John Oliver, and, spoofing his show, Bill Nye the Science Guy, made sure to put his safety goggles on before beginning his tirade.
He also lights a globe on fire, which is a bit on the nose, though perhaps that’s the best route to take, all things considered.
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“Safety goggles on. By the end of this century, if emissions keep rising, the average temperature on Earth could go up another 4 to 8 degrees.”
“What I’m saying is the planet is on f*cking fire,” he continued, and proceeds to actually light the planet (represented by a globe) on fire.
Then he points out that there are ways to fix it, but none of the options are free. Because “nothing’s free, you idiots. Grow the f*ck up. You’re not children anymore. I didn’t mind explaining photosynthesis to you when you were 12 but you’re adults now and this is an actual crisis, you got it?”
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Estimates and timetables do vary, but a recent study found that if nothing is done to reduce our use of fossil fuels, the basis for his rant is not only not far off, and it actually may be conservative. Meaning things could get a lot worse than we are imagining.
Nye explained some ideas for addressing climate change while speaking with John Oliver, including carbon pricing.
“When we release carbon, say, by burning coal or driving an SUV, all of us pay for that in the form of things like fires, floods, and crop failures. Putting a fee on carbon creates incentives to emit less carbon, and, more importantly, it also incentivizes the development of low-carbon technology, which is huge, because that’s vital to reducing emissions globally.”
The two also criticized people for dismissing the Green New Deal, a resolution drafted by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez that aims to aggressively combat climate change at the national level.
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“The whole Green New Deal is just 14 pages long. That is seven pages shorter than the menu for the Cheesecake Factory.”
Not that anyone actually reads the entire Cheesecake Factory menu either, but point taken.
If it’s making Bill Nye lose it, maybe it’s time we all pay attention to him the way we did when we were kids.
