While most Brits are getting ready to bask in uncharacteristically hot temperatures this week, on the other side of the pond, Bill Nye (aka the Science Guy) has got a warning for us – and it sounds like we’d better get our sh*t together.
Nye, who has appeared in many shows as a science advisor, recently appeared on Last Week Tonight, alongside host John Oliver, where he had a feisty but firm public service announcement.
Oliver was discussing the Green New Deal, which is a proposed set of regulations set to make the US carbon-neutral in 10 years, explaining how it had catalysed a debate about climate legislation across the country.
However, he was keen to point out that while the legislation is a step in the right direction, but the world is far from out of the woods on cutting carbon emissions – and that’s where Bill Nye the Science Guy came into it.
Appearing in his white lab coat, bow tie and safety glasses, Nye stood behind a table which had a globe, a bucket of sand, a fire blanket and a fire extinguisher on it.
He said:
I’ve got an experiment for you. Safety glasses on. By the end of this century, if emissions keep rising, the average temperature on Earth could go up another four to eight degrees. What I’m saying is the planet’s on f*cking fire.
Nye then notched it up by pulling out a blowtorch from under the table and setting the globe on fire.
He then pointed to the three objects on the table and asked if they could be used to extinguish the flames.
Nye continued:
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. Grow the f*ck 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*ckers.
But it wasn’t just a foul-mouthed rant from everybody’s favourite science teacher, as Nye had some pretty scary numbers to back up his tirade.
Carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere is at the highest level it has been since the beginning of humanity, approximately 3 million years ago.
Last year, the planet’s oceans reached the warmest temperature ever on record, while the Earth saw its fourth warmest year ever.
A United Nations report claimed that up to 1 million species could become extinct, within the next few decades, largely credited to climate change.
It’s no wonder Bill Nye is kicking off.
You can watch the full clip from Last Week Tonight here:
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Emma Rosemurgey is an NCTJ trained Journalist who started her career by producing The Royal Rosemurgey newspaper in 2004, which kept her family up to date with the goings on of her sleepy north east village. She graduated from the University of Central Lancashire in Preston and started her career in regional newspapers before joining Tyla (formerly Pretty 52) in 2017, and progressing onto UNILAD in 2019.