John Coleman, founder of The Weather Channel, used a recent interview to slam Bill Nye the Science Guy, calling the celebrity a “pretend scientist in a bow tie.”
Coleman likened Nye’s apparent support for jailing climate change deniers to the plight of Italian astronomer Galielo Galilei, who was jailed by church leaders for defending his heliocentric theory (which turned out to be correct).
AP Photo/Dylan Lovan
"I have always been amazed that anyone would pay attention to Bill Nye, a pretend scientist in a bow tie," Coleman told Climate Depot Saturday.
"As a man who has studied the science of meteorology for over 60 years and received the AMS (American Meteorological Society's) 'Meteorologist of the Year' award, I am totally offended that Nye gets the press and media attention he does," he continued.
When asked back in April if he supported jailing skeptics, Nye seemed to entertain the idea.
"For me as a taxpayer and voter — the introduction of this extreme doubt about climate change is affecting my quality of life as a public citizen," Nye told Climate Depot in an interview regarding the global-warming-wary film “Climate Hustle,” which came out Monday.
"So I can see where people are very concerned about this, and they're pursuing criminal investigations as well as engaging in discussions like this," Nye said, adding, "That there is a chilling effect on scientists who are in extreme doubt about climate change, I think that is good."
Image source: climatehustle.org
Nye's strong statements prompted Coleman’s Galileo comparison: "That is the most awful thing since Galileo was jailed for saying the Earth was not the center of the universe."
"In 20 or 30 years, when Nye is an old man, he will realize how wrong he was as the Earth continues to be a just a great place to live,” Coleman added.
"Climate Hustle," made by Marc Morano of Climate Depot, promises to reveal “the history of climate scares including global cooling; debunks outrageous claims about temperatures, extreme weather, and the so-called 'consensus;' exposes the increasingly shrill calls to 'act immediately before it's too late,' and in perhaps the film's most important section, profiles key scientists who used to believe in climate alarm but have since converted to skepticism.”
Nye once asserted that the documentary is "very much not in our national interest and the world's interest.”
Following the premiere of "Climate Hustle," TheBlaze asked a few attendees if the film influenced their opinions on climate change. Watch:
