MSNBC "The Ed Show"- Transcript: Climate Change

Interview

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SCHULTZ: Senator Sheldon Whitehouse joins us tonight. Senator, good to
have you with us. Thanks for your time.

WHITEHOUSE: Good to be with you Ed.

SCHULTZ: You bet. A melt 10 times faster than previous estimates? What
does that mean?

WHITESHOUSE: Well, it`s a reminder that the consensus position on climate
change has very responsible views on the other side of it. The climate
change is actually going to be a lot worse than we currently anticipate.
And when you look at what 10 feet of sea level rise means to an ocean state
like Rhode Island or to a sea front city like Miami, it is a lot of pain.
It is a lot of catastrophe. It is a lot of expense. It is a very, very
significant danger.

SCHULTZ: Senator, you have been to the Senate floor no less than 107 times
talking about climate change. And now you have called out those in a state
where they say it is ground zero, Florida some of the politicians there.
Why do you think they are in denial? And I was down in Florida earlier
this year and I did a five part series on climate change. The real estate
boom down there and crazy. Some of the cities are investing in
infrastructure. But for the most part, the business community they`re not
paying any attention to this. What do you make of that?

WHITEHOUSE: Well, the Florida lesson is really clear and these Florida
presidential candidates. They are ignoring their hometown papers. They`re
ignoring the home state universities. They`re ignoring the Army Corps of
Engineers office in Florida. They are ignoring virtually everyone who
knows anything about this. They`re ignoring their mayors and county
official, Republican and Democrat, who are living with this problem day in
and day out. And I think kind of help send a message that maybe this is
just a political fight and there`s no reality behind it. But, you know,
that`s an awful lot of voices from Florida that have piled up to the point
where I think it`s absolutely irresponsible for these Florida presidential
candidates particularly to have anything at all to say on climate change.
They got nothing, Ed.

SCHULTZ: Yeah. What about New York City? Is that just a good start? Or
is that something that is going to really have an impact with the measures
that de Blasio is talking about?

WHITESHOUSE: Look, I think there were 50 mayors there and there`s a whole
mayor`s conference on this. They are going to get a lot done. The big
polluter political guns haven`t yet really focused on the mayors, so they
have a lot more room to maneuver than a Republican Congressman or
Republican senator who has to live in a very tough threat environment from
fossil fuel interests. In the wake of the Citizens United decision. But
even above mayors, even Congress, you know, what, there`s going to be a
reckoning with the American people in November. And the American people
aren`t denying climate change any longer.

SCHULTZ: Yeah. And finally the role of the pope, how critical is it, how
important is it? And do you think he can have a real impact.

WHITEHOUSE: I think he`ll have a huge impact. It`s doubly important first
he himself as a charismatic person and very widely well regarded and a
great speaker on the subject. Second, his message in the encyclical gets
propagated out to every single Catholic School, every single Catholic
Parish, all of the bit Catholic civic organizations like the Knights of
Columbus and that tidal effect of it spreading that way is going to -- I
think as profound as his immediate speaking of it.

SCHULTZ: Senator Sheldon Whitehouse with us tonight on the Ed Show.
Senator, thanks so much. Keep up the great work.

WHITEHOUSE: Thank you Ed.

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