Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, and Marco Rubio all agree on one thing–none of them think climate change and global warming are really a big deal. That doesn’t sit well with Bill Nye. In an op-ed for CNN that went to press just before Thursday night’s debate, The Science Guy said that he wanted a straight answer from them about why they aren’t taking this issue seriously.
Nye hoped that someone would stand up and pose this question to Trump, Cruz, and Rubio:
“Mr. _______, you’ve stated repeatedly that you feel that climate change and global warming are not things we need to worry about in the short or even long term; why do you disagree with the world’s science community and the U.N.’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change?”
He then hoped someone would follow up with this:
“Mr. _______, would you say that you believe your intuition and experience with weather are more scientifically correct than the research done by the world’s climate scientists, and do you believe that the world’s scientists are part of a conspiracy?”
If you’re wondering why Nye sounds so incredulous, it’s because the scientific community is almost unanimous in its agreement that climate change and global warming are very real threats.
Nye is a strong proponent of renewable energy. To anyone who chimes in–or as he puts it, “whines in”–that it will be too difficult or expensive to wean ourselves off oil and gas, he offers Texas as an example. Texas already gets 10 percent of its electricity via wind power. As impressive as that figure is, Nye thinks the Lone Star State could do even better. According to the Solutions Project, which is working to transition the nation to 100 percent renewable energy by 2050, Texas could get 63.9 percent of its power from the wind if it’s done right, and rely on solar power for nearly all of the rest.
The Solutions Project has put together a nifty infographic showing how each state could rely solely on wind, water, and solar power for their energy needs. Click here to check out the figures for your state. My state of North Carolina could get as much as 55 percent of its power from wind. On paper, that’s not as impressive as Texas. But Nye points out that North Carolina and other states on the East Coast could be sitting pretty. The wind blowing along the Eastern Seaboard, he writes, would be enough to power this country “indefinitely.” Most importantly, “the source of the energy itself is free.”
It’s too bad no one asked either of Nye’s questions at Thursday’s debate. Seeing Trump, Cruz, and Rubio try to explain themselves would have been well worth the price of admission.
