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Bill Nye makes a climate-change denier a $20,000 bet about global warming

Nye is in his element railing against science denialism.

 

Michelle Jaworski

Internet Culture

Posted on Apr 20, 2016   Updated on May 26, 2021, 10:17 pm CDT

The Internet’s go-to authority on climate change is once again using science to disprove the claims of a denier.

Bill Nye set his sights on meteorologist and bodybuilder Joe Bastardi, who challenged him to show the connection between carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the world’s temperature and to predict the next five years of global climate activity.

For Nye, who’s debated creationism and climate change before, it was almost too easy. Using science and research from the conferences at which Bastardi had spoken, Nye tore apart his argument in a video on Neil deGrasse Tyson’s channel.

Nye is so confident about where temperatures are going that he’s putting his money where his mouth is. He bet $10,000 that 2016 would be among the 10 hottest years on record—and another $10,000 that the years 2010-2020 would be the hottest decade on record.

“So come on, champ,” Nye taunts. “Show us how tough you are.”

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*First Published: Apr 20, 2016, 9:49 am CDT