Chris Hayes Asks 'Republican Meteorologist' To Help Convince GOP Of Climate Change

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'I feel like I'm swimming upstream,' meteorologist Paul Douglas told host Chris Hayes today, as he explained he shares two concurrent sets of beliefs that often find themselves in conflict nationally: the belief that the global climate is changing and warming up, and the belief in small government conservatism. Douglas came on Up today to describe how he reconciles what science has taught him with how it is often politicized, and how he expects the private sector, and not the government, will help solve the problem.

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Douglas, founder of WeatherNationTV and a decades-long meteorologist, began to describe the situation on the right by arguing that, while the far right had been fairly loud about many issues, 'the common sense moderate middle has been largely silent,' and that they 'still respond to logic, still respond to reason, still respond to sound science.' While he admitted he was 'skeptical in the 1980s,' he perceived what he called 'a steady accumulation of coincidences.' 'The climate is a puzzle,' he explained, 'by the time the last piece falls into place, it will be too late to do anything.'

Hayes highlighted the 'steady accumulation of coincidences' remark to note that the need to look at individual events has also caused some who fail to believe in climate change to point at individual instances of weather and claim they prove climate as a whole is behaving in a certain way. 'When winter was cold,' Hayes argued, 'Fox News was like 'it's snowing in front of the White House, obviously global warming isn't happening!'' He didn't want to end up doing the same for the other side, so he asked, 'how should I talk about this in a way that is scientifically responsible?'

Douglas provided a metaphor: 'Mother Nature has a DVR, and she is putting our seasons on fast forward and turning the volume of severe volume up to an 11.' He noted that he had failed 'we will figure out solutions, mostly market-based' because 'smart companies are going to look at the liabilities involved, and they're going to look at the opportunities.' The panel then weighed, in, with Christine Todd Whitman, former EPA head, noting that 'it was Ronald Reagan who made climate change a part of national security discussions.' That Republicans seemed less able to believe in climate change also struck Bob Herbert as not entirely their fault, but proof that 'the other side has not done a good job' have not fought back hard on the organized right.' Needless to say, Hayes did not quite agree with that.

The segment via MSNBC below:

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• Cue Right-Wing Community College Dropouts denying Climate Change. 

• Fake fake fake!! This guy is a liberal from the 'lame-stream liberal media' concocting tales.

  Jesus has a fever, once his temperature comes down,everything will get back to normal like it was before in the Free Market of Eden.

• Get your carbon credits right here ! Cheap !

  It's global warming'er, I mean cooling..,uh, I mean climate change, that's the ticket !

  Step right up, suckers.

  We also sell carbon paper, typewriters and Polaroid cameras !

  Read your palm, too !

• The right and independents might be a little more receptive to the argument if the 'solution' wasn't already designed and ready to implement.  A fabricated exchange pre-loaded to make Al Gore a trillionaire' yeah pretty sure your going to have to put us all in gulags to get your enviro-final-solution implemented.  

  good luck, and keep screeching passionately about science or as you prefer it Science, and how it's on your side..

• LOL! There is NO ONE in earth denying 'Climate Change.' NO ONE! Conservatives and Libertarians say that there is NO evidence to say conclusively that 'Human Action' causes 'Climate Change.' Not only that! There are studies that show conclusively that more CO2 is produced by 3rd world countries than developed nations. Even more revealing! It shows that NET CO2 production is NEGATIVE in the USA and Europe. 
  Nothing but usual MSNBC manipulation of 'emotional' arguments to explain a scientific issue. 

  http://chiefio.wordpress.com/2011/10/31/japanese-satellites-say-3rd-world-owes-co2-reparations-to-the-west/

  'More educated Liberals' (based on what study? polling? Having a 'Women Studies,' or Sociology, or Journalism BA from and 'Ivy League' school does not make you more educated. It just shows your inability to make smart choices with life and money).

  Inconvenient? Yes, True? For Sure. 

  Signed: a Right Wing College Dropout

• Mediaite seems obsessed with Chris Hayes, enough already. I find his use of his hands to communicate completely distracting. The producer needs to tie his hands behind him.

• 'by the time the last piece falls into place, it will be too late to do anything.'
  Seems the capitalist/republican party doesn't care if they leave 'this problem' for our children and grand children.