Conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh said Wednesday that warnings about the potential effects of climate change are overblown, arguing some global warming “would actually be good for a lot of things and people.” The comments, highlighted by liberal watchdog Media Matters, came in response to Democratic presidential candidates pressing the urgency of climate change during Tuesday night’s primary debate. Limbaugh took issue with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), who said climate change is the country’s greatest national security threat.
“Here’s Bernie Sanders last night going on and on about it, he was asked over and over again, number one biggest, most important, threatening issue we face. Climate change. ‘If we don’t act fast, our children and grandchildren may be faced with an uninhabitable planet,’” Limbaugh said on his radio show. “Nobody’s even said that. I mean, you can make some cases, examples that some warming would actually be good for a lot of things and people.”
He then went on to offer an example of his own: “From the top of my head, I can think of people who live in the colder parts of our planet, like Siberia, Norway, Iceland and the like. Those people are often faced with not so agreeable temperatures throughout the year, so I’m guessing they would be thrilled with some more sun and higher temperatures.”
However, Limbaugh didn’t stop there. He added that “homeless people would also hail” global warming as that would mean that “they would finally be able to get one huge worry off their mind.”
“And then there’s homeless people, and again, I’m talking about millions around the world. As things stand right now, I mean, they’re pretty much safe during only a quarter of the calendar year, with a few additional hot days here and there, if summer is either early or late. But other than that, during the other seasons, they literally have to find other places to sleep as the temperatures drop down to an unbearable level for them to spend outside. Imagine having to sleep on a park bench when it’s freezing outside, and having nothing but cardboard to cover yourself with. Don’t try to tell me that homeless people wouldn’t also hail higher average temperatures thanks to global warming.”
And to top it all off, he finished off his broadcast by saying, “Besides, don’t anyone try to tell me that all this global warming mumbo jumbo is something you actually believe in, it’s clearly Bernie Sanders’ pitch to get more votes in 2016. I mean, the guy’s got nothing else going for him, he’s pretty much a dinosaur and he’s thinking about becoming president. Does that make sense to you? Who knows if he’ll even be alive for the next four years if he makes it to the White House, he might just croak someday. Or, if he does win the election, imagine him getting a heart attack from all the excitement? That’s why old people like Bernie need to be checking into retirement homes, not running for president of the United States.”
