HURRICANE HARVEY CONTINUES ITS DEVASTATION AND FLOODING TODAY
AFTER HITTING BOTH PORT ARTHUR AND BEAUMONT, TEXAS LAST NIGHT.
WE WILL START OFF BY SHOWING YOU THIS MAP TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF
SOME OF THE MOVEMENTS OF THE STORM AND ALSO THE INTENSITY
ALONG THE PATH, YOU SEE AS IT HIT CORPUS CHRISTI, THIS IS
OBVIOUSLY PREVIOUSLY, HITTING CATEGORY 4, RETREATING, GOING
BACK TOWARD THE COAST AS A TROPICAL STORM, RETREATING AND
AGAIN MAKING LANDFALL, THIS IS EARLY THIS MORNING THERE, ON
SORT OF THE DIVIDING POINT BETWEEN TEXAS AND LOUISIANA.
OBVIOUSLY THE STORM'S CENTER IS MOVING OFF, THE RAINS AND
FLOODING CONTINUE, BUT THERE IS NO RELIEF BECAUSE YOU HAVE A
SHORT PERIOD WHERE IT MOVES A LITTLE BIT BACK OUT AWAY FROM
THE COAST AND THEN IT COMES BACK IN --
ALTHOUGH SOME RAIN WILL CONTINUE ON, IT IS BELIEVED,
THROUGH THURSDAY.
AND THAT IS JUST THE BEGINNING OF THE
EVENTUAL RECOVERY OF COURSE, BECAUSE WE ARE STILL IN A
TERRIBLE SITUATION IN BASICALLY THE FOURTH LARGEST METROPOLITAN
AREA IN THE ENTIRETY OF THE U.S., AROUND HOUSTON, AND NOW
LOUISIANA WHICH IS IN SOME WAYS EVEN LESS CAPABLE OF
DEALING WITH THE DAMAGE THAT THE STORM COULD DO, EVEN THOUGH
IT'S AT A LOWER INTENSITY LEVEL NOW.
I WANT TO UPDATE YOU ON SOME OF THE NUMBERS --
I HAVE SEEN NUMBERS RANGING FROM 8 TO 10,000 RESCUES THAT
HAVE ALREADY BEEN CONDUCTED BY BOTH HOUSTON OFFICIALS, POLICE
DEPARTMENT, THE COAST GUARD, THE NAVY, AND VOLUNTEERS OF COURSE.
UNFORTUNATELY THE DEVASTATION HAS BEEN BAD --
I WANT TO GIVE YOU AN IDEA OF SOME
OF THESE --
AS MANY PEOPLE HAVE ACCURATELY POINTED OUT,
EVACUATION CAN SAVE LIVES, BUT EVACUATION CAN ALSO TAKE LIVES,
AND IT IS ITSELF IN INCREDIBLY DANGEROUS PROCESS THAT CAN
EXPOSE PEOPLE FLYING TO GET AWAY FROM FLOODWATERS TO ANY NUMBER
OF OTHER DANGERS.
WE HAVE SOME OTHER DEVELOPMENTS TO TALK ABOUT
BUT THIS IS THE CURRENT STATE OF THE STORM NOW.
AS YOU HEAR THOSE TRAGIC STORIES IT'S HEARTBREAKING,
THERE ARE SOME STORIES OF RESCUE OF COURSE TOO, THREE PEOPLE GOT
PULLED FROM A TREE WHERE THEY HAD FOUND SHELTER, THEY WERE
HOPING PEOPLE CAME BY TO RESCUE THEM, AND THEY DID.
AND THEY
FOUND A SIX-YEAR-OLD WHO HAD BEEN SEPARATED FROM HIS PARENTS.
IMAGINE THE TERROR IN THAT KID IS THERE IS FLOODWATER
EVERYWHERE, AND HE CAN'T FIND HIS PARENTS -- THANK GOD THEY
FOUND HIM AND HE'S OKAY, THE FAMILY IS OKAY NOW.
BUT AS YOU
HEARD FROM JOHN, SOME OF THOSE FAMILIES ARE NOT OKAY.
LOCAL
CITIZENS THERE ARE SAYING THINGS LIKE I'VE NEVER SEEN ANYTHING
LIKE THIS -- YOU AREN'T ALONE, IT'S THE WORST RAINFALL AND
STORM WE HAVE SEEN IN A LONG TIME, IN FACT IT BROKE THE
RECORD FOR RAINFALL OF A SINGLE STORM ANYWHERE IN THE
CONTINENTAL UNITED STATES AND IS ABOUT TO BREAK THE RECORD FOR
ONE IN HAWAII AS WELL.
IT'S 51.88 INCHES IN CEDAR BAYOU,
EAST OF HOUSTON, WHICH IS AN UNREAL AMOUNT OF WATER.
LOOK, WE
KNOW WHAT CAUSED THIS.
YES, THERE ARE STORMS THROUGHOUT
TIME, THAT'S OF COURSE PART OF THE PLANET, BUT THE STORMS HAVE
GOTTEN WORSE.
WHAT SCIENTISTS EXPLAINED IN EXPLAINING CLIMATE
CHANGES THAT STORMS WILL GET MORE SEVERE, AND HERE WE ARE,
STORM THAT'S MORE SEVERE.
THEY SAY IT'S A 500 YEAR FLOOD, IT'S
NOT, THERE WAS A FLOOD THAT WAS SIMILAR IN LOUISIANA JUST LAST
YEAR, THERE WILL BE ANOTHER ONE THE YEAR AFTER THAT, AND EACH
TIME THEY CALL IT A 500 YEAR FLOOD AND THEY WILL PRETEND IT'S
NOT CONNECTED TO ANYTHING ELSE.
GOLLY GEE, LOOK WHAT BEFELL US.
IT'S NOT GOLLY GEE, I KNOW WHAT BEFELL US, IT'S CLIMATE CHANGE.
CLIMATE CHANGE IS BECAUSE EVERY STORM, IT MAKES SOME STORMS MORE
SEVERE.
SCIENTISTS TOLD YOU THAT SEA LEVELS WOULD RISE AND THEY
DID, NEAR HOUSTON IT HAS RISEN OVER HALF A FOOT OVER THE LAST
SEVERAL DECADES.
WHEN YOU HAVE HALF A FOOT HIGHER SEA LEVEL YOU
HAVE MORE FLOODING, AND WHEN YOU HAVE STORMS THAT ARE MORE SEVERE
YOU WILL HAVE MORE FLOODING.
THEY TOLD YOU TEMPERATURES WOULD
RISE IN THE SEA TEMPERATURE WOULD RISE, AND WHEN SEA
TEMPERATURE ROSE, SCIENTISTS PREDICTED YOU WOULD HAVE MORE
MOISTURE.
BECAUSE THIS IS A MATTER OF SCIENCE, THEY KNOW
WHAT HAPPENS WHEN THINGS GET WARMER.
ONE OF THEM IS MORE
MOISTURE.
AND VOIL¿, HERE IT IS.
DON'T PRETEND WE DIDN'T KNOW IT
WAS COMING.
EVERY NEWS REPORTER THAT COVERS THIS AS AN
INDIVIDUAL EVENT, WOW, LOOK AT THIS, WHAT GOD OR LOCKED BROUGHT
US, IT'S NOT GOD OR LUCK, IT'S THE FOSSIL FUEL INDUSTRY.
THERE
ARE OTHER THINGS THAT CONTRIBUTED TO CLIMATE CHANGE
BUT THAT'S A GIANT ONE.
IN THIS CASE LUCKILY IT ALSO HIT THE
FOSSIL FUEL INDUSTRY.
RIGHT-WINGERS GET VERY UPSET
WHEN YOU MENTION THAT, I'VE ALREADY HAD RIGHT-WINGERS WRITE
COLUMNS SAYING THE SCIENTISTS CAN'T BE RIGHT, CENK, AND HOW
DID THEY DISPROVE OUR FACTS IN THEIR REBUTTAL OF ME?
THEY SAID
WE ASKED THE AMERICAN PETROLEUM INSTITUTE, AND THEIR LOBBYISTS
TELL US THE SCIENTISTS ARE WRONG.
AND THEN THEY
TRIUMPHANTLY DECLARE, HA-HA, GOTCHA.
NO, THAT IS INSANITY, OF
COURSE THE WORLD'S SCIENTISTS ARE MORE ACCURATE ABOUT SCIENCE
THAN OIL LOBBYISTS.
SO NO I DON'T SHED A TEAR FOR THE OIL
INDUSTRY.
I SHED A TEAR FOR THOSE WHO ARE DEVASTATED BY THIS
FLOOD PARTLY CAUSED BY THE OIL INDUSTRY.
AND IN TERMS OF PEOPLE
WHOSE JOBS -- FIRST OF ALL NO JOBS HAVE BEEN LOST YET, SOME
REFINERIES HAVE BEEN KNOCKED OUT FOR A WEEK OR LONGER, AND OIL
LOBBYISTS COME IN AND ALL THEIR PAID RIGHT-WING HACK WRITE ABOUT
HOW YOU ARE CELEBRATING JOB LOSSES -- THAT'S NOT TRUE, YOU
JUST WENT TO OIL LOBBYISTS BECAUSE THEY PAY YOU TO DO
PROPAGANDA, AND SECOND OF ALL, YES, SOLAR JOBS ARE NOW
ASCENDANT, THERE ARE MORE OF THEM, MORE SOLAR JOBS IN AMERICA
THAN COAL JOBS BUT NOBODY TALKS ABOUT THAT BECAUSE ALL YOU GET
IS PROPAGANDA, IT DOESN'T MEAN IF AN INDUSTRY IS DISPLACED
NOTHING WILL EVER REPLACE THOSE JOBS.
BUT YES, FOSSIL FUEL LEADS
TO CLIMATE CHANGE, WHICH LEADS TO HURRICANE HARVEY.
IF YOU
DON'T LIKE THAT FACT, YOUR PROBLEM IS WITH SCIENCE AND
FACTS AND NOT WITH ME OR ANYONE WHO IS BRINGING YOU THAT
MESSAGE.
TO THE EXTENT THAT YOU WATCHING THIS VIDEO SHOULD BE
CONCERNED ABOUT THOSE REFINERIES BEING HIT, IT'S THAT SHORT-TERM
IT COULD HAVE A NEGATIVE IMPACT ON A LOT OF AMERICAN FAMILIES
THAT ARE NOWHERE NEAR HURRICANE HARVEY OR THE AREAS BEING
FLOODED.
SOMETHING LIKE 1/4 OF THE AMERICAN REFINING CAPACITY
HAS BEEN KNOCKED OUT AT LEAST TEMPORARILY, GOD ONLY KNOWS HOW
MANY WEEKS OR MONTHS IT WILL TAKE TO GET IT BACK ON TRACK,
AND THAT MEANS THAT PRICES THEORETICALLY COULD GO UP FOR
AMERICANS.
BUT YES, AS CENK WAS ALLUDING TO, THERE ARE A LOT OF
REASONS CLIMATE CHANGE CAN MAKE STORMS WORSE, I WON'T GO INTO
ALL THAT SCIENCE, ALTHOUGH WE TALK ABOUT IT CONSTANTLY, YOU
CAN WATCH AN INCONVENIENT SEQUEL IF YOU WANT TO KNOW ABOUT IT,
WHEN THERE IS MORE MOISTURE IN THE AIR THERE IS MORE RAINFALL,
IT CAN BREAK RECORDS FOR RAINFALL.
ANOTHER SIMPLE THING
IS WE ARE WORRIED ABOUT SEA LEVEL RISE BECAUSE WE SEE
PICTURES 50 OR 100 YEARS IN THE FUTURE OF ISLANDS THAT WILL BE
GONE, AMERICAN CITIES THAT WILL BE FLOODED, BUT THE PROBLEM WITH
SEA LEVEL RISE IS NOT WHEN MANHATTAN IS COVERED IN WATER.
THE PROBLEM STARTS DECADES EARLIER THAN THAT, WHEN FLOODING
BECOMES MUCH MORE LIKELY AND MUCH MORE SEVERE BECAUSE THE
WATER IS HIGHER TO BEGIN WITH.
IT'S NOT WHEN THE LEVEES BURST THAT IS THE PROBLEM, IT'S
IN THE ANTICIPATION OF THAT, AND CLIMATE CHANGE ALREADY
THREATENS US, AS IT HAS FOR HOUSTON.
I WANT TO REITERATE OUR PETITION, TYTNETWORK.COM/HARVEY,
THE REASON I WANT YOU TO DO THIS IS BECAUSE THOSE LOBBYISTS ARE
OUT IN FULL FORCE RIGHT NOW, AND WHAT THEY WILL DO IS THEY WILL
TAKE THE HUMAN TRAGEDY, HIDE BEHIND THOSE MEN, WOMEN, AND
CHILDREN KILLED IN HOUSTON, AND SAY THAT'S WHY YOU'VE GOT TO
GIVE US BAILOUTS FOR THE OIL COMPANIES.
NO, NO, WE HELP OUR
BROTHERS IN NEED.
WHEREVER THIS FLAG IS FLOWN WE TAKE CARE OF
OUR OWN, BUT THAT MEANS ACTUAL HUMAN BEINGS.
WE AREN'T GOING TO
BE MONSTERS LIKE TED CRUZ, WE WILL HELP THE PEOPLE OF HOUSTON,
BUT IF THOSE OIL COMPANIES THAT CAUSE CLIMATE CHANGE IN THE
FIRST PLACE COME CRYING TO US, THAT FINALLY THEY ARE PAYING
SOME OF THE COSTS THEY CREATED FOR THE ENTIRE PLANET, OUR
ANSWER TO THAT SHOULD BE HELL NO.
THE PETITION WE ARE ASKING
YOU TO SIGN IS, UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES SHOULD THESE OIL
COMPANIES GET ONE DOLLAR OF TAXPAYER MONEY IN ANY KIND OF
SUBSIDY OR RELIEF AFTERWARDS.
YOU MADE THIS PROBLEM, YOU PAY
YOUR OWN COSTS.
AND YES, RIGHT-WING IDIOTS, THAT'S CALLED
A FREE MARKET.
YOU CREATED THE COST, YOU PAY FOR THE COST.
WE
ARE NOT GOING TO DO SOCIALISM HERE, WHERE WE JUST GIVE ALL
THIS MONEY TO THE OIL COMPANIES WHO STARTED THE PROBLEM IN THE
FIRST PLACE.
NO, WE GIVE MONEY TO HUMAN BEINGS, NOT TO
CORPORATIONS.
THERE SHOULD BE NO FEDERAL, LOCAL, OR STATE
GOVERNMENT AID COMING OUT OF U.S. TAXPAYER POCKETS GOING TO
THOSE OIL COMPANIES FOR THOSE REFINERIES, NONE, NOT A DIME.
SIGNED THAT PETITION SO OUR LEGISLATORS KNOW.
WE HAVE TO BE
UNITED IN SPEAKING ABOUT THIS.
IF YOU ARE IN HOUSTON THAT MONEY SHOULD GO TO YOU AND NOT
THE COMPANY WHO CREATED THE MESS IN THE FIRST PLACE.