Bill Nye ‘the Science Guy’ visits Durham to promote the Harris-Walz weather platform

Science teacher and TV personality Bill Nye spoke in Durham Monday to promote the Harris-Walz climate project.

Harris for President and NC Democrats hosted Nye at campaign headquarters in Durham, where he addressed a crowd of about 50 supporters.

Nye explained that he used to view the 2000 presidential election between Democratic candidate Al Gore and Republican candidate George W. Bush as “the most important election of [his] for life” because Gore’s strong climate platform would have encouraged aggressive policy action. However, he now considers 2024 to be the last year in which it is possible to take positive climate action.

“This is it, folks,” Nye said. “If we don’t do something about climate change this time, it won’t get done.”

Nye took a small copy of the Constitution from his pocket and turned to the eighth section, the eighth verse, and read it aloud: “To promote the Progress of Science and the fine Arts.”

He said: “The word science is in the American Constitution.”

However, Nye recalled visiting “countless” congressional offices over the years and talking to members who “can’t remember reading the word” and advocate policies that contradict reality. of science during their time in office.

He expressed support for Harris’ climate platform, which “advances environmental justice, protects public lands and public health, increases resilience to climate disasters” , reduces household electricity costs, creates millions of new jobs and continues to hold polluters accountable for maintaining clean air, water for all.”

The campaign is sponsored by the advocacy group Climate Power in partnership with 13 other environmental organizations such as the League of Conservation Voters Action Fund and the Sierra Club Political Committee. Organized by public figures including Nye, Rosario Dawson, Jack Schlossberg and others who will appear in debates on the battlegrounds to advocate for the Harris-Walz ticket and climate action.

Nye spoke about the environmental issues facing North Carolina right now, including storm surges, rising sea levels that threaten coastal communities and excess PFAS – per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances known as “eternal chemicals.” He also talked about pollution, food shortages and extreme heat.

Nye pointed to his connection to the state, noting that his mother is from Durham and his grandfather once taught chemistry at Duke.

Nye confirmed that North Carolina will play a key role in the November election, pointing to recent polls that show Harris and Republican candidate Donald Trump nearly neck and neck.

“I’m saying it, North Carolina — you’re all going to change the world,” he said.

Nye asked audience members to reach out to friends and family members who plan to vote for Trump and “remind them that the climate is the one issue that matters to their children and their grandchildren… of heaven is the most important thing there is.”

Nye was joined by three North Carolinian officials at the event: State Sen. Natalie Murdock, State Rep. Pricey Harrison and Kinston City Manager Chris Suggs.

Murdock began his opening remarks by suggesting that the Harris campaign does not stand for political violence after another reported assassination attempt against Trump Sunday – the second in this cycle of elections.

Murdock said: “There is no place for violence in this country. As the vice president said, we are still learning the details of what happened on Sunday, but in America, we do not resolve our differences with violence but at the ballot box.

Both Murdock and Harrison spoke about the challenges facing climate policy at the federal level.

“I’ve been in the legislature for 20 years,” Harrison said. “It’s been a landmark to see how we’ve addressed the climate crisis.”

He noted that while North Carolina is the third most vulnerable state in the country to sea level rise, mitigation and adaptation strategies have been difficult due to the state’s Republican majority.

“Every little chance the Republicans have had [used] getting back every defense we did,” Harrison said.

Both lawmakers highlighted the “danger” posed by Trump and NC Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Robinson. They compared the 2025 plan — which opposes clean energy investments and environmental justice efforts at the state level — to Harris’ platform, pointing to his investment in replacing lead pipes across North Carolina and support for clean energy development in the state from within Biden. system.

Suggs, the youngest elected official in the state, spoke about his experience growing up in eastern North Carolina and experiencing frequent floods.

“Flooding is unfortunately part of our city’s legacy now, which is a Black home, and my neighborhood in east Kinston is the number one economically challenged area in our entire country,” he said. . “So with all those disasters, we had a problem with economic recovery. We lost jobs [and] businesses, and people who could move to a safer place, left.”

The proposals framed Harris’s platform as promoting an “opportunity economy” to support the needs of the middle class. He compared his approach to that of Trump, who he spoke of before cutting funding to the Federal Emergency Management Agency and other relief programs and “plans to raise costs in our homes.”

“Vice President Harris and President Biden are lowering energy costs and making sure our incomes go further,” he said. Families have more breathing room.