At this point, it’s nothing less than irresponsible to give air time to those who deny important, proven facts about the way this planet is developing — and NBC has just made an important move to protect viewers from the dangerous nonsense of climate deniers.
Earlier today on “Meet the Press,” host Chuck Todd announced that his show was “not going to give time to climate deniers” right before airing an hourlong panel with lawmakers and experts on the subject and the vast consequences that will occur if climate change is not taken seriously. Todd called climate change “a literally earth-changing subject that doesn’t get talked about this thoroughly, at least on television news.” He said:
Just as important as what we are going to do is what we’re not going to do. We’re not going to debate climate change, the existence of it. The earth is getting hotter and human activity is a major cause, period. We’re not going to give time to climate deniers. The science is settled even if political opinion is not.”
WATCH: How do we explain the urgency of climate change? #MTP
Dr. Kate Marvel, NBC’s Anne Thompson, Craig Fugate, Michèle Flournoy and Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.) discuss how to get Americans to understand the urgency, and the cost, of climate change.https://t.co/rHveJKRjvw pic.twitter.com/7tJ8MQWDBq
— Meet the Press (@MeetThePress) December 30, 2018
This is going to be big news for Trump and the Republican party, considering that the GOP is mostly responsible for denying global warming. On his show, Todd mocked Trump (who regularly uses weather to deny climate change) and said that his show would not “confuse weather with climate.”
During the panel of several scientists and experts, Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-Fla.). said:
We need to stop covering the debate and start covering the story, so that people see that this is real, and so that politicians take a more pragmatic approach and find solutions that are actually achievable.”
Climate activist California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) also took the opportunity to trash Trump as he said:
[Trump] is very convinced of his position. And his position is that there’s nothing abnormal about the fires in California or the rising sea level or all the other incidents of climate change.”
This move by NBC was applauded widely, with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) being one of the bigger names to encourage this stance. He wrote on Twitter:
Congratulations to Chuck Todd and Meet the Press for holding a serious discussion about climate change. Will this be a breakthrough moment for mainstream TV, which rarely discusses this issue?”
Congratulations to Chuck Todd and Meet the Press for holding a serious discussion about climate change. Will this be a breakthrough moment for mainstream TV, which rarely discusses this issue? https://t.co/CDZ3xHw8Tj
— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) December 30, 2018
We can only hope this will set a new standard.
Featured image via screen capture
