>>> WELCOME BACK. JOINING US NOW FROM SYDNEY,
AUSTRALIA, MICHAEL MANN,
DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR OF
ATMOSPHERIC SCIENCE AT PENN
STATE UNIVERSITY, THE AUTHOR OF
THE MAD HOUSE EFFECT, HOW
CLIMATE CHANGE DENIAL IS
THREATENING OUR PLANET.
MY GO-TO GUY WHEN THERE ARE
MAJOR CLIMATE ISSUES AROUND THE
WORLD.
WORLD. QUO INCIDENTALLY, YOU ARE IN
AUSTRALIA, MICHAEL, FOR
SOMETHING WHICH HAS GOT THE
WORLD ON EDGE.
I NEED TO UNDERSTAND FROM YOU
WHETHER THIS IS UNIQUE AND
SPECIFIC TO AUSTRALIA OR WHETHER
THIS IS THE SIGN OF THINGS TO
COME WITH SCORCHED EARTH AND HOT
DAYS AND LONG FIRE SEASONS THAT
BURN LOTS AND LOTS OF LAND AND
KILL LOTS AND LOTS OF ANIMALS.
>> YEAH.
>> YEAH. THANKS, ALI.
THANKS, ALI. IT’S GOOD TO BE WITH YOU.
SADLY, IT’S THE LATTER.
WHAT WE ARE WITNESSING RIGHT NOW
IN THE FORM OF THESE
UNPRECEDENTED BUSHFIRES IN
AUSTRALIA IS THE IMPACT OF
HUMAN-CAUSED CLIMATE CHANGE.
YOU WARM UP THE PLANET.
YOU DRY OUT THE CONTINENTS IN
THE SUMMERS IN SUBTROPICAL
REGIONS THAT ARE ALREADY DRY,
YOU’RE GOING TO GET THESE EPIC
WILDFIRES.
WILDFIRES. WE’VE SEEN IT IN CALIFORNIA.
NOW WE’RE SEEING IT HERE IN
AUSTRALIA.
AUSTRALIA. NOW, I CAME TO AUSTRALIA TO
STUDY THE IMPACTS OF CLIMATE
CHANGE ON EXTREME WEATHER HERE
ON THE CONTINENT OF AUSTRALIA.
THAT SABBATICAL WAS ACTUALLY
PLANNED OUT MORE THAN A YEAR
AGO.
AGO. LITTLE DID I REALIZE THAT I
WOULD ARRIVE TO ACTUALLY WITNESS
THAT PLAY OUT IN REALTIME AS WE
WATCH THIS EPIC TRAGEDY UNFOLD,
THIS UNPRECEDENTED DEATH AND
DESTRUCTION DUE TO THESE
BUSHFIRES THAT ARE LITERALLY
ENGULFING THE CONTINENT OF
AUSTRALIA RIGHT NOW.
>> MICHAEL, YOU HAVE STUDIED
THIS.
THIS. YOU’VE WRITTEN ABOUT IT, AND I
THINK IN THE LAST YEAR YOU AND
OTHER EXPERTS LIKE YOU HAVE
REALIZED THAT WE IN THE MEDIA
ARE TAKING THIS MORE SERIOUSLY
THAN WE EVER HAVE BEFORE.
IT IS BECOMING A MUCH MORE
MAINSTREAM CONVERSATION, AND
MAYBE BOOKS LIKE YOURS HAVE
WORKED IN SORT OF ISOLATING THE
DENIERS.
DENIERS. BUT NOW WE ARE IN A WORLD IN
WHICH WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING.
WHEN YOU LOOK AT AUSTRALIA, WHEN
YOU LOOK AT THE AMAZON, WHEN YOU
LOOK AT THE WILDFIRES IN NORTH
AMERICA, WHEN YOU LOOK AT THE
STRENGTH OF THE HURRICANES AND
THE TYPE OF FLOODING WE’VE SEEN,
THE TIME FOR ACTION IS NOW.
BUT WHEN YOU LOOK AT AUSTRALIA,
WHAT IS THERE TO DO?
WHAT DO MY VIEWERS DO WHEN THEY
SEE THESE PICTURES THAT ARE ON
OUR SCREEN RIGHT NOW?
>> YEAH, WELL, PEOPLE ASK ME,
YOU KNOW, IS AUSTRALIA OR
CALIFORNIA -- ARE WE DEALING
WITH THE NEW NORMAL?
I WISH I COULD SAY THAT’S ALL IT
IS.
IS. A NEW NORMAL IMPLIES THAT WE
JUST NEED TO COPE WITH THE
CONDITIONS THAT WE’RE NOW
DEALING WITH.
DEALING WITH. BUT IT’S WORSE THAN THAT.
IF WE DON’T ACT IMMEDIATELY TO
DRAMATICALLY REDUCE OUR CARBON
EMISSIONS AND PREVENT FUTURE
WARMING, ADDITIONAL WARMING AND
DRYING OF THE CONTINENTS, THEN
THE SORTS OF WILDFIRES, THE EPIC
WILDFIRES THAT WE ARE SEEING
TODAY WILL BECOME COMMONPLACE,
AND WE WILL SEE UNPRECEDENTED
SCALES AND INTENSITIES AND SPEED
OF SPREADING OF THESE WILDFIRES.
SO, YOU KNOW, THE KEY THING IS
WE HAVE TO STOP WORSENING THE
PROBLEM BY BURNING FOSSIL FUELS,
AND HERE IN AUSTRALIA, THE
CURRENT PRIME MINISTER, SCOTT
MORRISON, IS ACTUALLY SUPPORTING
POLICIES THAT WILL CONTINUE
AUSTRALIA’S POSITION AS THE
LEADING EXPORTER OF COAL ON THE
PLANET AT A TIME WHEN WE NEED TO
BE BRINGING DOWN OUR EMISSIONS
DRAMATICALLY, THE CURRENT
POLITICAL LEADERSHIP OR ONE
MIGHT ARGUE LACK THEREOF HERE IN
AUSTRALIA, IS TAKING THEM IN THE
WRONG DIRECTION.
WRONG DIRECTION. AT A TIME WHEN THEY ARE
WITNESSING THE TRAGIC IMPACTS OF
THE WARMING THAT WE’VE ALREADY
CAUSED.
CAUSED. >> MICHAEL, IN AMERICA, WE HAVE
A PRESIDENT ENCOURAGEING THE
BURNING OF COAL.
WE’RE GOING TO HAVE TO REDUCE
OUR RELIANCE ON THE ENTIRE RANGE
OF FOSSIL FUEL, BUT COAL IS THE
MOST DAMAGING IN TERMS OF THE
GOALS WE’RE TRYING TO REACH.
>> YEAH, THAT’S ABSOLUTELY
RIGHT.
RIGHT. YOU KNOW, ALL FOSSIL FUELS
CONTRIBUTE TO THE CARBON BUILDUP
IN THE ATMOSPHERE AND THE
WARMING OF THE PLANET, BUT COAL
IS THE WORST.
IF YOU LOOK AT THE AMOUNT OF
CARBON THAT IS PUT INTO THE
ATMOSPHERE FOR THE RETURN OF
ENERGY THAT YOU ACTUALLY GET,
COAL IS THE WORST.
SO IT’S FAIRLY CLEAR NOW THAT WE
HAVE TO STOP BURNING COAL.
WE HAVE TO DRAMATICALLY REDUCE
OUR BURNING OF NATURAL GAS AND
OUR USE OF -- BURNING OF
PETROLEUM AND OIL AND GASOLINE.
BUT MORE THAN ANYTHING ELSE,
WE’VE GOT TO STOP BURNING COAL.
AND, AGAIN, RIGHT NOW AUSTRALIA
IS ACTUALLY DOUBLING DOWN IN
THEIR POLICIES UNDER THE CURRENT
LEADERSHIP, UNDER SCOTT MORRISON
AS THE PRIME MINISTER.
THEY’RE ACTUALLY DOUBLING DOWN
IN THEIR POLICIES OF
INCENTIVIZING THE MINING AND
BURNING AND EXPORT OF COAL, THE
VERY WORST OF THE FOSSIL FUELS.
>> MICHAEL, THANK YOU FOR
JOINING US.
JOINING US. WHILE YOU’VE BEEN TALKING TO US,
NORMALLY WE LOOK RIGHT AT YOUR
FACE.
FACE. BUT THESE PICTURES, I THINK, OUR
WORTH OUR VIEWERS SEEING.
WE’RE NOT JUST SEEING THE
DEVASTATING FIRES, BUT WE’RE
SEEING THOSE KOALAS, THOSE
KANGAROOS, AND THE BILLION --
THE ESTIMATE OF A BILLION