Neil deGrasse Tyson on climate change: Dinosaurs never saw the asteroid coming. What’s our excuse
The latest episode of the hit series Cosmos featured something rarely seen on Fox, and a topic that, as anyone who’s been following the series closely will tell you, has been a long time coming. That’s right, Neil deGrasse Tyson finally took on climate change.
The result was better, even, than SNL predicted. The episode stepped all the way back to past, Earth-shattering transformations and climate fluctuations, building up to our current, man-made crisis. Then, he got to the meat of it: showing exactly how carbon became buried in the ground to begin with, and making clear the consequences of our setting it all free. The money quote, via Mother Jones:
We just can’t seem to stop burning up all those buried trees from way back in the carboniferous age, in the form of coal, and the remains of ancient plankton, in the form of oil and gas. If we could, we’d be home free climate wise. Instead, we’re dumping carbon dioxide into the atmosphere at a rate the Earth hasn’t seen since the great climate catastrophes of the past, the ones that led to mass extinctions. We just can’t seem to break our addiction to the kinds of fuel that will bring back a climate last seen by the dinosaurs, a climate that will drown our coastal cities and wreak havoc on the environment and our ability to feed ourselves. All the while, the glorious sun pours immaculate free energy down upon us, more than we will ever need. Why can’t we summon the ingenuity and courage of the generations that came before us? The dinosaurs never saw that asteroid coming. What’s our excuse?
Judging by Twitter, deGrasse Tyson definitely managed to rouse the masses and take the deniers down a few pegs:
http://www.salon.com/2014/05/05/neil_degrasse_tyson_takes_on_climate_change_the_dinosaurs_never_saw_that_asteroid_coming_whats_our_excuse/?utm_campaign=socialflow&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=tweet
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