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Bill Nye Urges Young Americans to Vote for Climate and Harris on Election Day

Harry November 6, 2024

This Election day Bill Nye He has a message for young people: “Vote climate “in my mind.”

Since September, America’s beloved scientist has been injecting the following information onto social media platforms: fast, interesting videos aims to educate voters about electing candidates who advocate for climate and clean energy. Working with Climate Power’s Too Hot to Vote campaign, Nye appealed to voters to cast their votes for Vice President Kamala Harris, who cast the tie-breaking vote to pass the Inflation Reduction Act. climate crisis An “existential threat” to former President Donald Trump for making false claims climate change It is a “scam”.

With the last and last video in the seriesWhy is he talking? Rolling stone about the political power of the nation’s youth, why she supports the Harris-Walz ticket, and how the next United States will shape the future of our planet.

I wanted to talk about the risks of climate in this presidential election. What kind of future do Vice President Kamala Harris and Donald Trump offer America in terms of environmental policies?

Donald Trump has publicly said he will continue oil and gas drilling in the continental United States and wherever he can succeed in rolling back regulations that would be against drilling on public lands, parks or national monuments. Essentially, he and his team are saying that they do not accept the reality of climate change and do not plan to do anything about it. Harris and Walz have plans to pursue something similar to the Inflation Reduction Act, also known as the Clean Power Plan, and that’s why I would rather pursue the Clean Energy Plan than the “Clean Energy Plan.”drill, baby drill.”

What is the biggest driver behind Trump and his allies’ intention to cancel the Clean Power Plan and roll back environmental protections?

I think there are two things: They are very strongly influenced by the fossil fuel industry, particularly the oil and gas sectors of the fossil fuel industry. And I believe through influence they accepted large donations from them and promised to roll back the regulations for the number he said they would. one billion dollars. So it’s in no one’s interest, and the opposing viewpoint has taken root among conservatives because it’s not progressive; The science of climate change is rejected along with many other things they want to reject.

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Young people don’t have time for this. In my experience, young people are very worried about the future, they are very worried about the climate and the world they will live in. So these (climate) videos target young people, young voters. And I want to remind people that when I went to high school during the Motown era, you had to be 21 to vote, but when I graduated high school you had to be 18, and that was deeply rooted. Concerns expressed by the public about the Vietnam War, where you could draft people like me and kill us in the war, but we didn’t have the right to vote. And so the world changed with that. So I really want to emphasize this to young people. I traveled the country, went to several places, prepared videos to encourage young people to vote, because young people have the power to change history.

When you talk to young people, especially millennials and Gen Z, what is the biggest difference you see between generations in terms of their perspectives on climate change?

They grew up with it. I also grew up with Earth Day, and when Earth Day was created, everyone’s concern was pollution. Human beings were turning the environment into dirty, toxic chemicals. You’ve probably heard the phrase “plastic forever”, which is a source of great concern. But since then, climate change has been discovered, and so Millennials and Generation Z have experienced climate change in the background their entire lives. This wasn’t something discovered during their lifetime, it was before they were born. So I think they understand that better than people, for example, people who are running for President, Vice President on the other side. And (young people) want to do something about it.

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There is widespread misrepresentation among Republicans regarding climate crisis solutions such as the cost of wind and solar energy alternatives, how did the party get to this point?

The other side has worked really hard to make doubts about climate change into an idea, and they have also worked really hard to make the idea that doing anything about climate change is “extremist.” There’s a big word there: “climate extremes.” But when you consider the size of the problem, something like the Inflation Reduction Act is unlikely to be overkill, a few good first steps.

They have worked hard to dismiss science altogether and introduce the idea that scientific uncertainty is the same as overwhelming doubt. And this is not true. This is wrong.

When you talk to young people across the country, what is their number one concern when it comes to the environment?

That we have reached a tipping point. The word people use (around) is “apocalypticism” – meaning we are doomed. But I will claim this: I will slam my fist on the editorial desk! – recent research indicates that there is no tipping point. You have not reached the point of no return. Things just keep getting worse. Therefore, the sooner you do something about it, the better.

Videos I prepared on this subject Constitutionabout climate changeabout distorted worldview – these were made weeks before Hurricane Helene, before Hurricane Milton. You can call it a coincidence or “What did you expect?” you can say. … There is a real cost here: the financial costs of rebuilding. It’s not crazy or remarkable to suggest that people will choose to live somewhere else if they can’t get insurance, can’t rebuild their homes, can’t insure their cars against corrosion. Salt water comes from above and below the limestone. They will move. So where will they go and what will they do when they get there? And these are the real costs we will all bear. And so, young people: Understand this. Let’s go. Let’s do something about this.

When talking to young people, do you also emphasize the importance of negative voting?

Yes, because – this is a great question – we don’t want to end up with a situation where the White House has leadership on climate change and then one of the legislatures in the US Congress is obstructionist on climate policies. You don’t want climate deniers anywhere in your municipal elections, in your school board elections, in your various proposals regarding people’s quality of life and climate change. You don’t want climate deniers to be in any of these positions. So yes, all the way to the end of the ballot.

Many people say the climate crisis should be approached holistically and with a multi-solution approach, rather than relying on a single, perfect solution.

Thank you. You know, the title of my second and last book was: All in OneSomeone bought this for the movie. You can’t copyright a title, but my point with the book was that we had to do everything at once. There is no panacea; There is no single thing to do to solve this problem, you have to do them all.

The big idea in combating climate change is to do two things: reduce the amount of electricity or energy we need and at the same time produce more electricity. So address the problem from both ends. We have the technology to do this, and now we have the technologies not only to produce it but also to store it. These incredible new battery designs are much larger, heavier and less energy dense than the ones in your phone. The future is exciting.

I always say: You have to be optimistic. If you’re not optimistic, you can’t do anything. You don’t go into the game thinking you’re going to lose. You set out thinking that you will win.

Many climate activists and scientists have said the United States should lead on climate action. Why is it so important for the US to do this?

Because the United States is the most influential culture in the world. You can go anywhere in the world and people know Hollywood. They know who the president of the United States is. They know they know the word “OK.” This is one of my favorites. Wherever you go – China, New Zealand, India, Vietnam, Japan – “ok” is a word everyone knows. This is a US word named after Old Kinderhook.

US culture is everywhere, and the US needs to lead the way. And you may have heard me whine and complain about those who whine and complain about what’s going on in other countries regarding their contribution to global climate change. Let’s lead. Just cut and direct. Then we can have a meeting about who contributed to what and what.

Put the United States ahead with climate action, innovative energy policies, and technical innovations. We can do this. Let’s go.

One more thing, my parents were both World War II veterans. My father was captured off Wake Island on Christmas Eve, 1941, and spent almost four years as a prisoner of war. My mother was hired by the Navy as a code breaker. People of all ages, everyone was doing one thing: We will win this war. And they did. So if we, the United States, take the lead on this issue, we will solve this problem and make the world better than ever.

Portions of this interview have been edited for length and clarity.