(Above: Cliff Sims talks to James Spann about climate change)
Yellowhammer News CEO Cliff Sims sat down with legendary meteorologist James Spann in the ABC 33/40 studio recently to record an episode of The Exchange, Yellowhammer’s weekly interview with an Alabama politician, business leader or otherwise notable Alabamian.
The interview will be rolled out in pieces throughout this week.
Previous Spann segments:
James Spann: ‘Alabama is my family, we’ve been through a lot together’
In Part 2 of The Exchange with James Spann, Sims asked the beloved weatherman to talk about the politically-charged issue of global warming from the perspective of a meteorologist.
“We’ve got policymakers up in D.C. that are making public policy based on the premise that the science of climate change is definitive — that global warming is happening, men are causing is we’ve got to do something to avert some catastrophic something happening,” Sims noted. “What do you say to those folks who say the science is done, that it’s a done deal on this?”
“Number one, the science is never settled,” Spann said. “Anybody that says that, they don’t understand science. Here’s what we all agree on: the climate is changing. I don’t know anybody who doesn’t agree with that. The question involves, does man play a role in climate change. And that’s where there’s disagreement.”
As Sims alluded to in his opening statement, the Environmental Protection Agency recently announced new rules limiting carbon emissions from power plants. A study by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce predicts the mandates will cost the United States more than 220,000 jobs over the next several years. Spann didn’t get into the political or economic side of the debate, but clearly bristled at the idea that so much attention would be given to limiting what he referred to as “the lifeblood of the plant.”
“My position is this,” Spann began, “is C02 a greenhouse gas? Absolutely. Is it a pollutant? No. It’s the lifeblood of the planet. Can you have too much of a good thing? Yes.
“How much CO2 do you emit in your lifetime?” Spann asked Sims rhetorically. “If you see the statistics on that, you would be a pollutant that should be removed, according to some of the stuff I see. To hear some of the outrageous claims — I saw one the other day that floated by, and this was a legitimate news organization and a legitimate guy — it said global warming is going to make us eat the corpses of our dead! This stuff is so outrageous.”
After Spann laid out his position, he urged viewers to read the work of Dr. John R. Christy, the Distinguished Professor of Atmospheric Science and Director of the Earth System Science Center at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.
“John is our state climatologist,” Spann said. “John speaks so eloquently on this subject and he is the most qualified to speak on the subject. I recommend people listen to what he has to say about it.”
Check back throughout the week for more from Yellowhammer’s interview with James Spann.
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