Hey, the world’s on fire. No, not in a metaphorical, a Russian asset reality show clown has the nuclear codes sort of way, but actually on fire. At least that’s the conclusion reached by hundreds of scientists from 13 government agencies in a four-year study that outlines, in truly terrifying detail, just how on fire we are, and how on fire we are going to be unless some major (but possible) changes are made to our environmental and energy policies. It’s the sort of sobering, then getting drunk again because it’s so scary, call to action that only a money-besotted, energy corporation shill or someone who possesses “all the stupidity of mankind” could deny.
“I don’t believe it.”—Donald Trump.
Well, as The Daily Show’s Trevor Noah explained on Monday’s show, that only makes sense, since that chilling report on global warming was prepared by all those liberal activist alarmists—in the Trump administration. Also, as Noah goggled incredulously, Trump claims to have actually read an entire, fact-filled, science-backed ecological report. Oh, wait, Trump said he’s read “some of it.” Presumably the bullet points rounded up by his aides with the words “this will cost you money personally” scrawled in red Sharpie. Anyway, as Noah showed, Trump wasn’t alone in his “superhuman stupidity,” as cable news continued its baffling policy of inviting noted non-scientist “climate change buffoons” with financial ties to the energy producing industry to sneer at all that fancy book-learnin’.
People like former senator, noted bigot, and forever distasteful sexual euphemism Rick Santorum, who is employed by CNN, and who came on in the wake of the voluminously researched climate report to claim that the whole climate change thing is a scam perpetrated by greedy scientists looking for that sweet, sweet, um, climate change cash? Or one Danielle Pletka, a notoriously wrong pundit invited by Meet The Press’ Chuck Todd for some inexplicable reason to debunk that whole climate change hoax by noting that, um, it’s been really chilly sometimes. As Noah notes (and Todd did not), Pletka’s employer, the American Enterprise Institute, is a right-wing think tank funded by—wait for it—ExxonMobil. Which is sort of the whole “scam perpetrated by greedy scientists” Santorum accusation in reverse. As Noah continued to break down Pletka’s proud disclaimer “I’m not a scientist” before expounding on a deeply science-based topic on orders from her corporate benefactors, “Once you say you’re not a scientist, why is anyone listening to your scientific opinion?” Question for you, Chuck Todd and CNN.