"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2018-01-18T15:36:45Z"
data-video-section="weather"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/weather/2018/01/18/nasa-climate-change-report-2018-gray-orig-js.cnn"
data-branding-key=""
data-video-slug="nasa climate change report 2018 gray orig js"
data-first-publish-slug="nasa climate change report 2018 gray orig js"
data-video-tags="business and industry sectors,business, economy and trade,climate change,energy and environment,energy and utilities,environment and natural resources,experimentation and research,nasa,science,space and astronomy,us federal departments and agencies,us government independent agencies,glaciers and icebergs,jennifer gray,landforms and ecosystems,misc people,oceans"
data-details="">
"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2018-01-18T15:36:45Z"
data-video-section="weather"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/weather/2018/01/18/nasa-climate-change-report-2018-gray-orig-js.cnn"
data-branding-key=""
data-video-slug="nasa climate change report 2018 gray orig js"
data-first-publish-slug="nasa climate change report 2018 gray orig js"
data-video-tags="business and industry sectors,business, economy and trade,climate change,energy and environment,energy and utilities,environment and natural resources,experimentation and research,nasa,science,space and astronomy,us federal departments and agencies,us government independent agencies,glaciers and icebergs,jennifer gray,landforms and ecosystems,misc people,oceans"
data-details="">
"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2018-07-05T21:30:04Z"
data-video-section="politics"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2018/07/05/epa-scott-pruitt-resigns-scandals-dnt-tsr-collins-vpx.cnn"
data-branding-key="situation-room"
data-video-slug="epa scott pruitt resigns scandals dnt tsr collins vpx"
data-first-publish-slug="epa scott pruitt resigns scandals dnt tsr collins vpx"
data-video-tags="donald trump,environment and natural resources,environmental protection agency,environmental regulation and policy,ethics,government and public administration,government bodies and offices,kaitlan collins,political figures - us,resignations,scott pruitt,society,us federal departments and agencies,us federal government,us government independent agencies,white house"
data-details="">
"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2018-04-10T20:22:14Z"
data-video-section="politics"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2018/04/10/trump-firing-resignations-removals-2018-orig-mg.cnn"
data-branding-key=""
data-video-slug="trump-firing-resignations-removals-2018-orig-mg"
data-first-publish-slug="trump-firing-resignations-removals-2018-orig-mg"
data-video-tags="government and public administration,government bodies and offices,international relations and national security,national security,us federal government,white house,law and legal system,politics,defense departments,government departments and authorities,government organizations - us,us department of defense,us federal departments and agencies"
data-details="">
"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2018-07-05T17:01:23Z"
data-video-section="politics"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2018/07/05/lawmakers-want-investigation-of-scott-pruitt-secret-calendar-ip-vpx.cnn"
data-branding-key=""
data-video-slug="lawmakers want investigation of scott pruitt secret calendar ip vpx"
data-first-publish-slug="lawmakers want investigation of scott pruitt secret calendar ip vpx"
data-video-tags="environment and natural resources,environmental protection agency,environmental regulation and policy,government and public administration,political figures - us,politics,scott pruitt,us congress,us federal departments and agencies,us government independent agencies,us house of representatives"
data-details="">
"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2018-06-15T21:14:40Z"
data-video-section="politics"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2018/06/15/scott-pruitt-tenure-trump-orig-vstan-me.cnn"
data-branding-key=""
data-video-slug="scott pruitt tenure trump orig vstan me"
data-first-publish-slug="scott pruitt tenure trump orig vstan me"
data-video-tags="donald trump,environment and natural resources,environmental protection agency,environmental regulation and policy,government and public administration,government bodies and offices,investigations,political figures - us,scott pruitt,us federal departments and agencies,us federal government,us government independent agencies,white house"
data-details="">
"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2018-06-14T21:21:24Z"
data-video-section="politics"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2018/06/14/gop-conservatives-pressure-pruitt-lead-ganim-dnt.cnn"
data-branding-key=""
data-video-slug="gop conservatives pressure pruitt lead ganim dnt"
data-first-publish-slug="gop conservatives pressure pruitt lead ganim dnt"
data-video-tags="business travel,conservatism,environment and natural resources,environmental protection agency,environmental regulation and policy,ethics,government and public administration,government bodies and offices,government controllers and auditors,politics,public finance,sara ganim,society,travel and tourism,travel safety and security,us congress,us federal departments and agencies,us government independent agencies,political figures - us,scott pruitt"
data-details="">
"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2018-06-08T21:42:13Z"
data-video-section="politics"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2018/06/08/scott-pruitt-trump-gop-lead-griffin-dnt.cnn"
data-branding-key=""
data-video-slug="scott pruitt trump gop lead griffin dnt"
data-first-publish-slug="scott pruitt trump gop lead griffin dnt"
data-video-tags="crime, law enforcement and corrections,ethics,federal bureau of investigation,government and public administration,government bodies and offices,investigations,justice departments,law enforcement,political figures - us,politics,scott pruitt,society,us congress,us democratic party,us department of justice,us federal departments and agencies,us federal government,us house of representatives,us political parties,drew griffin"
data-details="">
"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2018-06-06T09:09:44Z"
data-video-section="politics"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2018/06/06/pruitt-chick-fil-a-job-wife.cnn"
data-branding-key=""
data-video-slug="pruitt chick fil a job wife"
data-first-publish-slug="pruitt chick fil a job wife"
data-video-tags="business and industry sectors,business, economy and trade,chick-fil-a,companies,environment and natural resources,environmental protection agency,environmental regulation and policy,fast food,food and beverage industry,food and drink,freedom of information,law and legal system,political figures - us,restaurant and food service industry,restaurant industry,restaurants,scott pruitt,us federal departments and agencies,us government independent agencies,washington post"
data-details="">
"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2018-05-25T19:23:30Z"
data-video-section="politics"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2018/05/25/epa-scott-pruitt-security-costs-sot-nr.cnn"
data-branding-key=""
data-video-slug="epa scott pruitt security costs sot nr"
data-first-publish-slug="epa scott pruitt security costs sot nr"
data-video-tags="environment and natural resources,environmental protection agency,environmental regulation and policy,political figures - us,scott pruitt,us federal departments and agencies,us government independent agencies"
data-details="">
"
data-check-event-based-preview=""
data-is-vertical-video-embed="false"
data-network-id=""
data-publish-date="2018-06-04T15:53:31Z"
data-video-section="politics"
data-canonical-url="https://www.cnn.com/videos/politics/2018/06/04/scott-pruitt-trump-hotel-mattress-ath.cnn"
data-branding-key=""
data-video-slug="scott pruitt trump hotel mattress ath"
data-first-publish-slug="scott pruitt trump hotel mattress ath"
data-video-tags="donald trump,environment and natural resources,environmental protection agency,environmental regulation and policy,government and public administration,law and legal system,political figures - us,politics,scott pruitt,subpoenas,trial and procedure,us congress,us democratic party,us federal departments and agencies,us government independent agencies,us house of representatives,us political parties"
data-details="">
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Scott Pruitt suggested Tuesday that climate change could benefit humans, despite scientific evidence to the contrary.
In an interview with KSNV in Las Vegas, Pruitt conceded that climate change is a reality and humans have contributed to it “to a certain degree.” However, the EPA administrator cast doubt on its negative long-term implications.
“Is it an existential threat? Is it something that is unsustainable, or what kind of effect or harm is this going to have? I mean, we know that humans have most flourished during times of what? Warming trends,” Pruitt said. “I think there’s assumptions made that because the climate is warming, that that necessarily is a bad thing. Do we really know what the ideal surface temperature should be in the year 2100? In the year 2018? I mean it’s fairly arrogant for us to think that we know exactly what it should be in 2100.”
The current scientific consensus, according to NASA, is that humans are the primary drivers of climate-warming trends, and that it is “proceeding at a rate unprecedented over decades to millennia.” Some of the long-term effects of climate change include a continuing increase in global temperatures, more droughts and heatwaves, stronger and more intense hurricanes, and rising sea levels.
According to the US Global Change Research Program’s National Climate Assessment, “climate change presents a global public health problem, with serious health impacts predicted to manifest in varying ways in different parts of the world.”
“Public health in the US can be affected by disruptions of physical, biological, and ecological systems,” the report explains. “Health effects of these disruptions include increased respiratory and cardiovascular disease, injuries and premature deaths related to extreme weather events, changes in the prevalence and geographical distribution of food- and waterborne illnesses and other infectious diseases, and threats to mental health.”
The US has seen a stark shift in its approach to climate change under the Trump administration and at the EPA under Pruitt’s leadership. Pruitt has shied away from robust action on climate change, and the phrase “climate change” was not included in the agency’s four-year plan.
