Activist and television host Bill Nye said the Earth is “on f—ing fire” in a new video warning about climate change, with the self-described “Science Guy” urging lawmakers to “grow the f— up” and allocate money to fight rising emissions.
“By the end of this century, if emissions keep rising, the average temperature on Earth could go up another four to eight degrees,” Nye said in the video, which was featured on John Oliver’s HBO program, “Last Week Tonight.”
{mosads}“What I’m saying is the planet’s on f—ing fire. There are a lot of things we could do to put it out — are any of them free? No, of course not. Nothing’s free, you idiots,” Nye added. “Grow the f— up. You’re not children anymore. I didn’t mind explaining photosynthesis to you when you were 12. But you’re adults now, and this is an actual crisis, got it? Safety glasses off, motherf—ers.”
The commentary comes two months after the Green New Deal package of proposals to address climate change failed to pass in the Senate in a 57-0 vote, with 43 Democrats voting “present.”
It was co-sponsored by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) and has been endorsed by several Democratic presidential candidates, including Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.).
Oliver during his Sunday evening show blasted conservative pundits for criticizing the Green New Deal while defending it himself.
“It is a nonbinding resolution that very briefly sets out some extremely aggressive goals, including achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, meeting 100 percent of the country’s power demand through clean, renewable and zero-emission energy sources and creating millions of good, high-wage jobs in the United States,” Oliver, a former Comedy Central host who came to HBO in 2014, said.