THERE ARE SO MANY STORMS BREWING IN THE CARIBBEAN, I THINK
IT'S IMPORTANT THAT WE TALK ABOUT SOME OF THE DEVASTATION.
HURRICANE MARIA WHICH REACHED HURRICANE STATUS WENT BACK TO
FOUR, IT IS PICKING UP TO FIVE AGAIN.
IT IS WREAKING HAVOC ON THE ISLAND OF DOMINICA, ABOUT
78 OR 80,000 PEOPLE.
THESE ISLANDS, LIKE ISLANDS THAT SUFFERED THE SAME FATE,
ESPECIALLY BARBUDA, IT IS HAPPENING AGAIN NOW.
THE PRIME MINISTER OF DOMINICA SAID AFTER BEING RESCUED FROM
HIS HOME ñ THAT IS EVERYTHING.
IT IS AN INCREDIBLE THING
BECAUSE WE DON'T KNOW IF HIS
PREMONITIONS CAME THROUGH BECAUSE ALL COMMUNICATION TO THE
ISLAND WAS CUT OFF.
THEY HAD NO WAY OF COMMUNICATING WITH THE OUTSIDE WORLD.
HERE IN FLORIDA YOU CAN DRIVE TO GEORGIA, INLAND OR DO OTHER
THINGS.
WHEN YOU'RE ON A SMALL ISLAND THERE IS NO PLACE YOU CAN GO.
IT'S EASY, WE TALK ABOUT CLIMATE CHANGE SO MUCH ñ
IT IS EASY TO BLAME IT.
I WANTED TO FIND OUT IF THIS WAS RELATED
TO CLIMATE CHANGE.
YES, OBVIOUSLY IT'S RELATING TO CLIMATE CHANGE.
CHANGES IN HER PLANET'S ATMOSPHERE DID NOT CAUSE
HURRICANES.
EVERYTHING THAT A HURRICANE
BRINGS, NO ONE IS SAYING
THAT CLIMATE CHANGE CAUSES HURRICANES.
FOR THE CLIMATE CHANGED, IT WAS NOT ñ WE WOULD HAVE HURRICANES.
YEAH, WE ALWAYS HAD HURRICANES.
ANYONE WHO USES THAT ARGUMENT IS MISSING THE POINT.
IT'S NOT ABOUT ALL THIS AND WE HAVE HURRICANES.
IT'S ABOUT THE SEVERITY OF THE STORMS, THE AMOUNT OF RAINFALL,
THE RISING SEA LEVELS.
AND ALSO THE MOISTURE AND THE HEAT THAT EXACERBATES THE
SITUATION.
BACK IN THE DAY YOU WOULD HEAR ABOUT STORMS LIKE THIS AND
THEY WOULD REFER TO IT AS A ONCE EVERY 500 YEAR STORMS.
NOW WE HAVE MAJOR STORMS THAT CAUSED SEVERE DAMAGE TO OUR
COUNTRY AS WELL AS OTHERS EVERY YEAR.
IT'S GOING TO GET WORSE.
AND WE WILL CONTINUE IGNORING IT.
WE PULLED OUT OF THE CLIMATE AGREEMENT, THE PARIS
CLIMATE AGREEMENT.
WE ARE NOT DOING ANYTHING TO COVER OUR BASES IN THE EVENT
THAT ALL THE SCIENTISTS ARE RIGHT.
EVERY ACTION IT SEEMS WE ARE TAKING IS LEADING US FURTHER
AWAY FROM ADMONITIONS INSTEAD OF CLOSER IN LINE WITH THEIR
RECOMMENDATIONS.
AND WE ARE THE ONLY COUNTRY IN THE WORLD THAT DEBATES THIS.
ONLY IN AMERICA DO WE DEBATE WHETHER OR NOT THIS IS
HAPPENING.
WHY?
TO PROTECT THE FOSSIL FUEL COMPANIES.
TO PROTECT THE FACT THAT WE ARE PART OF DESTROYING THE
ENVIRONMENT.
WE ARE REALLY POWERFUL TO HELP FIX IT.
THE STARTING POINT IS ACKNOWLEDGING, AND GETTING BACK
INTO THE PARIS CLIMATE ACCORD.
ON THE DAY THAT TRUMP ADDRESSED THE UNITED NATIONS THIS WAS
NOT A BIG TOPIC THERE.
THE CENTRAL CHALLENGE IN GETTING PEOPLE TO AFFECT POLICY
THAT ADDRESSES CLIMATE CHANGE ISSUES IS THAT IT IS A NOT
PRESSING THREAT.
AT THE KIND OF THING WHERE WHEN YOU HAVE A SCIENTIST SAY HERE
ARE MODELS WE PLAYED OVER DOZENS OF YEARS, BUT IS FURTHER
DOWN THE LINE.
ANYTHING THE PEOPLE WANT TO GET DONE INVOLVES SOME KIND OF
PRESSING ISSUE.
SUCH AS THIS YEAR WE CAN MAKE THIS MUCH MONEY IF WE OPEN UP
THIS FIELD TO BE DRILLED OR FRACKED.
THAT IS A PRESSING ISSUE THAT GETS FOLKS MORE EXCITED.
NOW WE'RE LOOKING AT THINGS THAT ARE MORE INTENSE BECAUSE OF
HIGHER SEE TEMPERATURES.
THAT IS THE ONE THING THEY TEACH YOU IN WEATHER AND STORMS
ABOUT HURRICANES.
THEY FEED OFF WARMER WATERS.
LOOK NO FURTHER THAN WHERE THE HURRICANE GOES FROM CATEGORY 3
TO 4.
IT DOES THAT OVER THE WARM WATERS OF THE GULF, AND IT LOSES
POWER OVER THE LAND OR OVER COLDER WATER.
THAT IS JUST HOW IT WORKS.
IF YOU'RE RAISING THE TEMPERATURE OF THE WATER,
BARRING ANY DRASTIC TEMPERATURE, YOU WILL HAVE A HUGE ASS
HURRICANE.
EVERYONE IS TRYING TO SHAKE THESE FOLKS AND SAY THIS IS THE
DEPRESSING THING THIS IS WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE AND FEELS LIKE.
THE SEA LEVELS HAVE ALWAYS RISEN, BUT AGAIN PEOPLE ARE
SAYING THIS IS NOT THE TIME TO TALK ABOUT IT.
IT'S SO FRUSTRATING.
IT'S LIKE THE UNITED STATES IS THE CERSEI LANNISTER OF GAME
OF THRONES.
AND THE WHITE WALKERS ARE COMING, BUT WE ARE IN DENIAL.
IT IS SO FRUSTRATING.
THIS IS WHERE I PRETEND I KNOW WHAT SHE IS TALKING ABOUT.
IT'S LIKE THE WHITE WALKERS ARE CLIMATE CHANGE.
I HEAR WHAT YOU'RE SAYING ABOUT IT NOT BEING A PRESSING MATTER
FOR MOST AMERICANS WHICH IS WHY I THINK A LOT OF PEOPLE HERE ARE
ABLE TO BRUSH IT UNDER THE RUG.
HERE IS ANOTHER THING, THERE IS ANOTHER PRESSING MATTER THAT I
THINK TAKES PRIORITY OVER DOING SOMETHING ABOUT CLIMATE
CHANGE, THE ISSUE OF JOBS.
I REMEMBER HAVING A CONVERSATION WITH A YOUNG GUY ON A PLANE, A
LIBERAL GUY WHO IS AN ENGINEER ON AN OIL RIG.
POLITICALLY SPEAKING HIS LIBERAL.
WHEN IT CAME TO THE ISSUE OF CLIMATE CHANGE, IT WAS
INTERESTING BECAUSE HE ACKNOWLEDGED IT, BUT HE DOESN'T
WANT TO DO ANYTHING ABOUT IT BECAUSE THAT MEANS HE HAS TO GO
FIND ANOTHER JOB, AND HE IS IN A CUSHY POSITION WORKING FOR
EXXON.
WHEN IT COMES TO FEEDING YOUR FAMILY, BUT IS ALWAYS GOING
TO TAKE PRIORITY OVER DOING SOMETHING THAT WILL BENEFIT
THE PLANET.
BUT HERE IS THE THING, IF YOU'RE WORRIED ABOUT NATIONAL SECURITY
OR THE COST OF FOOD, OR THE REFUGEE CRISIS THAT WE ARE
DEALING WITH IN THE MIDDLE EAST, ALL OF THOSE ISSUES WILL BECOME
EXACERBATED MOVING FORWARD.
AND WE SEE IT GET WORSE EVERY YEAR.
ONE OF THE KNOTS AGAINST CLIMATE CHANGE AS AN ISSUE
HAS ALWAYS BEEN THAT IT IS A TOMORROW ISSUE.
TOMORROW ISSUES DON'T PLAY POLITICALLY.
PEOPLE VOTE THEIR POCKETBOOKS AND THINK ABOUT WHERE THEIR
NEXT MEAL OR JOB IS COMING FROM.
EXCEPT NOW IT IS A TODAY ISSUE.
THAT IS WHY RUNNING INTO THIS WALL OF ATTITUDES THAT COME FROM
THE OTHER PARTY ON THIS, THE PARTY THAT IS STANDING AWAY OF
THESE THINGS, AND DONALD TRUMP AND HAS A MINISTRATION OR
STANDING IN THE WAY OF THIS, IT'S DIFFICULT BECAUSE IT
IS A TODAY ISSUE AND IT IS NOT THE SAME TYPE OF THING AS
IT USED TO BE.