'Science Guy' Bill Nye accused of bullying during heated debate

‘Science Guy’ Bill Nye speaks during a debate on evolution with Creation Museum head Ken Ham at the Petersburg, Ky. museum, Tuesday, Feb. 4, 2014. (AP / Dylan Lovan)

A CNN host accused “Science Guy” Bill Nye and other environmental advocates of being bullies for dismissing questions raised by skeptics of manmade climate change in a heated debate earlier this week.

The debate followed the Tuesday release of a landmark report called the National Climate Assessment from a panel of scientists overseen by the United States government. Manmade climate change is impacting all regions of the U.S., including diminishing water supplies, droughts, wildfires and rising temperatures, the report concluded.

Temperatures in the U.S. could rise by 10 degrees or more by the end of the century if greenhouse gas and other emissions continue on pace, it said.

Nye was brought on Crossfire to discuss the report and other climate change issues with Nicolas Loris, an expert on energy and environmental policy with the Heritage Foundation.

Things got off to a rocky start when Nye cut off host S.E. Cupp as she asked her first question. “Even if what (co-host) Van (Jones) and the White House are saying is all true,” Cupp began, “the scare tactics have not worked. Check out…”.

Nye cut Cupp off, saying “Before you go on.” Cupp fixed Nye with a steely glare and said, “Well no, let me finish my question.”

“Let’s talk about the facts,” Nye interjected again. “You’re saying they’re not true.”

Again, Cupp asked to finish her question, which she prefaced with Gallup polling data that showed that 36 per cent of Americans believe global warming will pose a serious threat to their way of life.

“Let me pause,” Cupp said. “Everything that VAN and the White House have said is true. However, the scare tactics have not worked, and don’t you need public consensus to move the needle on this?”

Nye asked if the way to get public consensus on climate change is to say that “it’s not happening, that it’s not serious…”.

After Nye talked about the economic impacts of a hurricane or tornado or drought, Loris interjected to say that “you can look at these things, and you can look at the climate realities.” He went on to say that “I’m not a denier, I’m not a skeptic,” adding that the climate is changing and “manmade emissions are some part to that.”

Loris added long-range data does not support a trend in extreme weather events, and that environmental regulations will make the U.S. less equipped to deal with weather events in the future.

When Loris said some researchers dispute a change in frequency or intensity to hurricanes, Nye replied: “Hurricane, schmurricane, if I may.”

He also accused Loris of “cherry-picking data,” and pounded the desk to ask “why did this report come out?”

Cupp then asked if it isn’t “a problem when science guys attempt to bully other people?”

“Bully me!” Nye interjected.

“I mean, Nick here had to say, ‘I'm not a denier’” Cupp went on. “He had to get it up, ‘I'm not a denier," because really, the science group has tried to shame anyone who dares question this, and the point I'm trying to make…”.

“Why is that bullying?” Cupp’s co-host Jones asked.

The question went unanswered.