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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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
Venezuela spirals into economic and political chaos Venezuela, a country whose potential for prosperity is unmatched, finds itself on the verge of civil war. What sustains the repressive government? With time running out, guest host León Krauze looks at what the international community can do to pull the country from the edge of collapse.
To the Point
Trump plays scolder-in-chief with NATO allies At the opening of NATO’s dramatic new headquarters in Brussels today, President Trump acknowledged that Article 5 — promising that “an attack on one nation is an attack on all” -- has only been invoked one time: in the aftermath of September 11. But the President failed to provide what 27 other Alliance members have been waiting for: a re-commitment by America’s new leader to Article 5. Instead, they got a scolding.
To the Point
Janesville and the American Dream Janesville, Wisconsin is the hometown of Republican House Speaker Paul Ryan. But he couldn’t prevent the closing of the General Motors factory after 100 years. On this Memorial Day rebroadcast of To the Point, we hear what’s happened to what once was a model of American middle-class unity.