Rutgers University
Climate scientist, geobiologist and climate policy wonk, Robert Kopp is a professor in the Department of Earth & Planetary Sciences at Rutgers University and co-author of Economic Risks of Climate Change: An American Prospectus.
PROFILE
Robert Kopp
Guest
FROM Robert Kopp
To the Point
Do we need to be 'scared straight' on climate change? It's been a month since President Trump said he'd withdraw America from the Paris climate accord. Now, a story in New York magazine has taken the debate about the dangers of global warming to an unlikely boiling point. The report paints a picture of un-breathable air and food shortages. More than two million people have read the doomsday warnings, which have been shared 640,000 times from the magazine's website. But some scientists call it dangerous alarmism. Others call it "not scary enough." We find out why.
To the Point
Do we need to be 'scared straight' on climate change? It's been a month since President Trump said he'd withdraw America from the Paris climate accord. Now, a story in New York magazine has taken the debate about the dangers of global warming to an unlikely boiling point. The report paints a picture of un-breathable air and food shortages. More than two million people have read the doomsday warnings, which have been shared 640,000 times from the magazine's website. But some scientists call it dangerous alarmism. Others call it "not scary enough." We find out why.
To the Point
The Climate Is Changing while Politics Stays the Same Climate change denial has been overtaken by observable facts — like the rapid melting of ice sheets that will increase ocean levels worldwide. It's happening, and the latest predictions of what's likely to come include disastrous flooding during the lifetimes of people living today. Polls show there's public concern -- but politicians can still ignore it — despite the scientific consensus that there's no time to lose. The cost of reducing greenhouse emissions may be a lot less than the cost of inaction.
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To the Point
Who's to blame for the opioid crisis? Some of the lawyers who took on Big Tobacco are now going after Big Pharma. It’s all about the deadly epidemic of opioid use. Are the drug companies to blame? What about the users? Later, on today’s Talking Point: making sense of Britain’s upset election.
To the Point
The longest US war: Will Trump send more troops to Afghanistan? The Trump White House is divided over the Pentagon's request for more troops in Afghanistan—where the US has been fighting for the past 16 years. Is there a formula -- either for "victory" or a political settlement? Is there an end in sight for America's longest war?
Left, Right & Center
President Trump: US to withdraw from the Paris Climate Accord Trump says he was elected to serve Pittsburgh, not Paris.
To the Point
Replacing Obamacare: Now you see it… now you don’t As the Senate deliberates replacing Obmacare, health coverage for millions of people is at stake. There've been no public hearings, and a draft measure won't be made public. Is the House version so unpopular that that Senate is hiding a version that looks much the same?