And now for your moment of zen, here’s Bernie Sanders and Bill Nye talking climate change
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders has not disappeared from the public eye since losing the 2016 Democratic presidential candidate nomination. If anything, he’s been around more than ever, fighting his fight. Recently, Bernie Sanders and Bill Nye talked climate change in a Facebook Live video. Their conversation was lively, if a little scary.
The iconic pop scientist and the former presidential candidate got very real about sending a message to the new administration about how serious climate change is.
They also expressed some fears that the role of science in government is being diminished at a time when the country actually needs to be beefing up its efforts when it comes to protecting the environment.
Sanders is dedicated to making sure everyone knows how important addressing climate change is. At the confirmation hearing of Scott Pruitt, who is now leading the Environmental Protection Agency, Sanders was one of the toughest questioners. He asked Pruitt, who has sued the EPA in the past and has close ties to oil companies, “Ninety-seven percent of the scientists who wrote articles in peer-reviewed journals believe that human activity is the fundamental reason we are seeing climate change. Do you disagree with that?”
Pruitt didn’t disagree that climate change is ~a thing~ but he does disagree that humans and industry are a main factor and plans on slashing regulations for companies to follow when it comes to their impact on the environment.
Sanders and Nye are not pleased about this. But they did offer some solutions that private citizens can use at home, like geothermal furnaces to reducing their energy usage. Nye was a little more hopeful than Sanders during the talk.
"From an optimistic point of view, I think if we can get these people to look at the world a little differently they will be on the side of domestic reproduced renewable electricity in a very quick short order," Nye said.
They also discussed how to change climate change deniers minds about taking initiative. If they won’t believe that climate change is real, it might be time to talk to them about the economic incentives, Nye said. If the government invests in renewable energy, they could create jobs for Americans and make things cheaper for consumers. That’s a good thing, and something that the new president has promised to do anyway. Accepting that climate change is real would be a win-win in that case.
That’s all well and good, of course, but really, we think Sanders and Nye should start their own weekly podcast. Nothing is better than listening to Bill Nye talk science. That’s his thing, after all.
