row seat to democracy. very good tuesday morning to you. as you are calling in, recent research polling on various aspects of u.s. society, americans and what they think on climate change. 62% say that large businesses and corporations are doing too little on climate change, just 8% saying that large businesses and corporations are doing too much. when it comes to ordinary americans, 66% of adults say that their fellow americans are doing too little. when it comes to environmental advocacy organizations in the u.s., 29% saying they are doing too little. 22% saying they are doing too much, 48% of u.s. adults saying environmental advocacy organizations in this country are doing about right on the issue of climate change. those numbers are from this spring, the pew research center.

from "usa today," a look at the climate situation across the country, more than 13 million americans in the west were under excessive heat warnings, straining power grids and fueling wildfires across almost 500 square miles and in california the wildfire season is outpacing last year, the worst on record. oregon, the bootleg fire was the biggest there, 0% contained as of monday. it's temperature in death valley is expected to reach 127 degrees monday afternoon, just shy of the daily record high of 129. all of this after last month checked out to be the hottest june on record according to friday's report from the national oceanic and atmospheric administration. that again from "usa today." bill neither science guy testified before the homeland security committee meeting last

month on the issue of climate change, talking about the role of congress and regulations when it comes to dealing with the issue of climate change. [video clip] >> greenhouse gases induce climate change on earth and it is happening now on larger and larger's tales. bigger storms, more floods, more droughts, more loss of shoreline and more businesses and people displaced as the ocean swells. therefore the sooner that we stop adding greenhouse gases to the air, the better off we have a chance of being and if we don't stop, more of these events will happen, more at the same time, increasing the likelihood of convergent problem's. it was stated earlier in the opening statement, the ranking member said we can't control the weather. turns out we are. inadvertently. by accident. we are controlling the weather and we have got to cut it out. now, everything on an airplane, from the wheel on the note --

the wheels in the nose to the light on the tail are there for a reason. anything extra you put on an airplane would add weight, shorten the range, make it more costly to fly, less efficient. even with that in mind, airplanes are required to carry all sorts of emergency equipment. life vests, rafts, exit doors right in the middle that no one ever uses. you wanted to have everything it needs to fly normally but also everything it needs when things go wrong. these regulations are good. they keep us safe. so, just like extra pieces and parts on an airplane, we don't want a galatians we don't need. but when it comes to addressing climate change, regulations are essential. having healthy neighborhoods where things don't stop working is a way to people healthy and working. it's why we have infrastructure like smoke detectors and fire

hydrants and all that plumbing. so that firefighters can keep us and the environment we rely on safe. this is where you all come in. members of the subcommittee. we want all the rules we need to create all the systems we need to address climate change. host: that was bill knight, -- bill nye, the science guy, testified before congress. from utah, the congressman who started the conservative climate conference. here's what he had to say on the effort. >> the first tenant is that the climate is changing and that years of the industrial revolution clearly have had an impact and we want to do something about it. i know that people are not used to republicans talking about it, but personally i feel like it's time for republicans to be more

aggressive with our message. the fact that we have not then engaged let's us be branded as not caring about the environment and i just don't think that's true. >> as part of the caucus, how many members are there? where do you go from here? what do you want to see done? >> we were really pleased, today there are 65 members and it grows every day, one third of the republican conference. it's one of the biggest caucuses for republicans. so, a huge out ring of support from my colleagues. as far as where we want to go, now that we have formed of the caucus, the main mission is to educate republicans on climate related issues and kind of be a think tank for solutions and things that we want to advocate and put forward. host: that was john kurtz on this program just a couple of

weeks ago. you can see the entire thing on our website. we are talking about the issue of climate change in the first hour, asking you to call in. if you think america is doing too much on the issue of climate change, too little, or about right. phone numbers for each one of those answers. altoona, pennsylvania, we are doing too little. why is that, rick? >> i think they ought to be looking for other ways to get fuel and power the cars. electricity is well and good, but did you ever hear about henry ford running 40,000 cars on 10,000 acres of hemp? the car was also made out of hemp. i cannot understand why they are not looking into other ways to make fuel. i mean it was proven that the fuel from hemp ran those cars very well.

that's why i feel they are not doing enough to reverse this and i don't really, in my heart i don't early think they are going to reverse this. the world has been through this since the beginning of time and maybe we can slow it down, but that's my comment. host: that's rick in pennsylvania. mike, sun city, saying that we are doing too much. in what ways, mike? caller: i'm tired of the liberal media making claims they have little to no support for just because they control the media. it's already 1000, 30 1000 sightings on record on the fact that climate change does not exist, but the elite liberal media has their own agenda and

doesn't want to interview any of them. it's absolutely incredible. host: would you say that the vast majority of scientists out there, that say climate change is happening, that man-made climate change is a real issue in a real threat, what would you say should mark >> they don't have any quantifiable evidence to prove that it exists. at least it seems to me that you would entertain both of them, wouldn't you? 31,000 scientists saying no and you cannot get one journalist in the elite liberal media to look into it. it's a fraud perpetrated by the elite liberal media on the american people. host: to what end? what's the conspiracy? caller: it's groupthink. the liberals believe in it so that they can make a claim for support. you've got to have a support for your searches, right? there's no support, they control

the media. host: robert n kentucky says we are doing too little. who and what sectors would you like to see do more, robert? caller: good morning to you, john, and to c-span. i live in a former coal mining town and i agree with mr. biden. global warming is a fit -- serious threat and problem, we have had no problem here in kentucky switching from coal to other jobs. this was a former coal mining town, frankly the best: the world. mr. biden was on cnn, fox, and msnbc saying that global warming has become a threat. why china doesn't have to cut their carbon, that's what i would like to have the president get on, press china to start cutting their carbon.

we are just sitting back and it seems like to me that they are getting away with mining and we are not. we are doing too little. host: robert, this debate over climate change has come up a lot in the ongoing debate over what an infrastructure investment should look like in this country . some of the specific proposals the biden administration put forth in its infrastructure plans require power companies to use more energy from renewable sources, raising taxes for more energy-efficient buildings and improved roads, federal spending for a nationwide network of charging stations for electric cars. that was all included in the original proposal on infrastructure. would you support any of those three things? caller: i support all of those things from the president, i support the

president on end very -- everything, i think he's doing a great job right now. but high-speed rail, that would be good for the country. it would look good, and it's time for the u.s. to get high-speed rail. i want to thank you guys, thank the president, and keep up the good work. host: that's robert in hazard, kentucky. polling when it comes to aspects of the biden infrastructure plan, one more number from the pew research center, this polling is from back in the spring on the original proposal, the number of u.s. adults who said that the biden infrastructure plans to rebuild infrastructure and reduce the effect of climate change, they said they expected it would help the economy with 30% saying they thought it would hurt the economy and 18% saying it would make no difference. that polling of course before the bipartisan infrastructure proposal came together. this now 600 billion dollar plan, we will be talking more about the path ahead for that

plan in the coming weeks. it will be a major push for the biden administration and for that by pardon it -- bipartisan infrastructure group on capitol hill. we will talk more about that with steve dennis, coming up in about an hour or so this morning. up next, lenny do, fort payne, alabama, says we are doing too little in this country on climate change. why? caller: good morning, thank you for taking my call. first of all, there really was a selection that i feel like my comment pertains to. first of all, we should all know who is in control of the climate. ok? almighty gall -- almighty god is over all this stuff. all the stuff going on in america is due to sin. let's put it where it belongs. it's sin.

the lord is in control of all this stuff. i don't care how many airplanes you put in the atmosphere, the lord is in control. host: so, the lord is in control. is there anything we can do? what does the lord want us to do on climate change? caller: get on your knees and pray that we do the right thing and handle everything the right way instead of this one after that one. host: so, what is the right way? caller: what's the right way? quit arguing and bickering like kids. get on your knees and pray for the answer instead of democrats against republicans. host: that was clarence -- this is clarence, republican line, says we are doing too much. caller: to start with, i'm 84 and i've seen the climate change on my life, it's a natural

occurrence as far as i'm concerned and i don't care, i don't they can spend enough money to mount anything. in the 1950's i was in the army in california, 1957. we had to go up and fight the fires in california. so, i'm just telling you it's nothing new. host: do you think it's getting worse? caller: well i'm sure it is, but it's natural. i've been on a farm all my life and i've seen it change and change. but it is on its own. this has nothing to do with us people, i don't think. [grunts] host: that's clarence, maryland. a chart looking at the areas of the country where wildfires are currently happening, this chart here looking at the total acres burned going back to 2000, you

can see the trend, the increase over time over the past 20 years when it comes to total acres burned. the map above it showing the areas facing a greater than usual risk of major wildfires this month, more than 90% of the west is under drought. the brown areas of the map of the united states, those are the areas facing greater risk, specific wildfires happening right now in this country. phone lines on the issue of climate change, (202) 748-8000 if you think the u.s. is doing too much on the issue. (202) 748-8002 if you think you -- we are doing too little. if you think we are doing about right, (202) 748-8003. news from around the country coming here into washington, d.c., democrats in texas, members of the texas legislature, here are the headlines from "usa today," a

rebellion against republican plans for sweeping changes, democrats and the texas house left to the state yesterday to derail a special session of the legislator -- legislature that the governor had called. the democrats said they hoped to pressure congress that federal legislation to protect texans and all-americans, they said, from the trump republicans nationwide or on democracy, the members of the texas house of representatives spoke to the media. here's a bit from the democratic caucus chair, chris turner. [video clip] >> today more than 50 members of the texas house left austin, left texas. not because we want to, it breaks our heart that we have to do it. but we do it because we are in a fight to save our democracy.

nationwide, the republican vote suppression efforts, anti-voter efforts, is coming to a crisis point in the state of texas right now. we have, we are at the beginning of a s

>> the necessity of passing before the people act. and how we need to work together with civil rights organizations to overcome the worst challenge to our democracy since the civil war.

host: good morning, where are we doing too little? caller: the scientists all agree on it. it is just that trump now has all of the republicans thinking they know more than the scientists. we had record high temperatures about two weeks ago. and, as of now we have a higher all-time temperature than austin texas. i moved up here in 1990. there were no tornadoes appear in 1990. -- up here in 1990. now, we have at least two or three within 20 miles of portland every year. last year during the pandemic, i

had to wear a mask all day at work. when i got home, had to take the mask off to be able to breathe but i could not breathe in my own apartment. if you shined a light, you could see the particles from the fourth fire floating around -- the forest fire floating around everywhere in the hallway. before i came home, it looked foggy in the hallways. i think, and less people experience it, they do not think there is a problem. -- unless people experience it, they do not think there is a problem. i called my friend in texas that i graduated high school with, and i spoke to him about our record high temperatures. he asked me why should i care? i said think about it, if it is

getting this bad here, how bad is it going to be where you are at? host: you mentioned texas a couple of times. larry says we are doing it right in this country. go ahead. caller: what controls the weather on earth here is the sun. the sun puts out more radiation, it is warmer. the sun puts out less radiation, the earth gets cooler. right now, we are in a cold spell. we should see icebergs on the great lakes but what we are seeing is glaciers melting in alaska. we are also in a volcanic period, every time a volcano blows its top, co2 spews out into the atmosphere creating a

bubble around us. that comes back and melts the glaciers. there is not much we can do about volcanoes. volcanoes account for about 75% of the global warning -- the global warming. host: you're saying we are doing what we can right now? caller: just about. forest fires put out about 10% of the global warming. we could do better with forest fires. on the ocean, we could have plants to produce water back into the earth. host: larry, let me focus on forest fires. there was a meeting last month, that same when we showed you earlier that have built my the science guy. the administrator of fema, a

discussion about forest fires, what we can do and what we can't do. here's a portion of that exchange. >> when it comes to hurricane mitigation, we have more communities, more living now that we did in 1900. the severity of storms in the frequency, are you talking about the actual number or the damage that they cause? >> i think it is both. i think we are seeing more billion-dollar disasters than we have seen in the past. we are seeing more storm, more hurricanes in the atlantic. we are seeing an increasing number of wildfires. >> you know that fire needs three things, oxygen, an ignition source and fuel. so, how does climate change

factor into those three things? >> for the wildfire season, the increasing number of wildfires we are seeing, the fact that the vegetation is more dried out than it has been in the past which increases its ability to have the should source. -- the ignition source. >> could also be that there is a lack of management of this forest and they are not cleared the way they should be? you and i both know, if you take away the fuel, you would not have these type of flyers. -- these type of fires. >> exactly. trying to reduce the impact. you could mitigate the potential impact you are going to see. the less you're going to have to respond. >> we can't take away the oxygen or the ignition source. at the end, it is always about

the fuel. the fuel is the vegetation. if we start clearing that out, we may see less of the devastating forest fires. >> i could agree with that. host: that hearing last month. again, if you want to watch those hearings in their entirety, go to c-span.org. coming up at 7:30 on the east coast, we are talking about climate change and this first hour of the washington journal. that he says we are doing too much. -- betty says we are doing too much. caller: first off, you do not

need bill knight on to discuss science. bill knight is not even -- bill nye is not even a scientist, he has a tv personality. to me, the more important issue than the climate is plastic pollution in the ocean. and, from what i hear from real scientists, the climate is cyclical and it is caused by the sub cycle. we had a period in the middle ages, the climate was warmer than then it is now. host: why is plastics in the ocean and environmental issue that strikes home for you? caller: because there is so much of it. and, it is mostly coming from china and the far east.

because they do not have proper disposal of their garbage. and it is huge. there is an island in the pacific ocean, that is nothing but plastic floating but it is like a huge island. because of the way the currents go, it creates an island. host: betty in california. this is ivan in tennessee who says we are doing too little. who would you like to see do more? caller: we need to do a lot more. president barack obama was trying to. in eastern tennessee, i grew up around here. we have had three tornadoes come through here that we would never

have dreamed of having a tornado. we are doing too little. host: harry and pittsburgh, pennsylvania. -- harry in pittsburgh, pennsylvania. caller: i would like everyone to go on youtube and watch john coleman, a meteorologist. in 1991, he said he was wrong about a lot of things, including carbon dioxide. as far as this bill nye, he has nothing to do with science or a thing. another thing people don't know is scientists in this country are getting $1 billion a year to prove that there is climate change. if they say there isn't, they don't get the money. host: is there an environmental issue that concerns you that you

think we are doing too little on? caller: yeah. with forest fires, and that lady brought up, they used to have safety grids. they stopped clearing out the dance vegetation. this is not started by the heat, you need a magnifying glass to start these fires. they stopped doing this years ago and that is why you are seeing more forest fires now. they said the debates over. when al gore said that, that is right after john coleman challenged him. host: a few of your comments from social media. from twitter, this is joseph saying driving hybrid cars or doing some kind of climate change ritual will not affect the forest fires. jamie is saying one little country in the world, we are going to be the only country to

regulate ourselves into poverty over an unproven theory while the largest polluters continue on. from tony in new mexico, without an environment economy. there is no life, no human life. it is not our economy, stupid. it is the environment. from mark, we are doing way too little, we act like all we have to do is stop burning fossil fuels it will help but it is delusional to think stopping greenhouse gases will save humanity area a few of your comments from social media. one more from the pew research center report from earlier this spring, looking at concern over climate change by generation in this country. among those who say addressing climate change is their top personal concern, 37% of generation z say that. that is the far-left blue column. 33% of millennials say that.

27% of generation x. 29% of the boomer generation or older says stopping or addressing climate change is their top personal concern. asking you this morning whether you think the u.s. is doing too much, too little or about right. melissa and tennessee says we are doing too little. in what areas? caller: i think we are not doing enough to educate the average americans on a common sense approach. several years ago, there was a big earth day concert trying to get the principle of radios. -- of reuse. how you can teleconference instead of traveling. for business.

all that was destroyed by somebody saying we need to save trees by only using one square of toilet paper. that destroys all of the common sense. we need to have more common sense ideas on how to help the environment. host: what is a commonsense idea that you have heard that you think works? caller: actually, there is a certain laundry detergent that is trying to encourage people to watch your close in cold water wash your clothes in coldwater. because that helps the environment. i think that is a great idea. i tend to wash mine in coldwater anyway.

to help save electricity. you can have this nice common sense approach. i think it keeps people engaged in more common sense approaches. you might get more people to come around to you. host: when you cross the line into people saying i am going to tune it out, that is too much for me, where you get to that line to avoid having people tune out of the conversation? caller: it is when we get these radical, crackpot ideas like banning all cars. internal combustion engines need to go. or, like i said, the celebrity who suggested saving trees by only using one square of toilet paper.

people, the average person hears something like that and they say no. host: is it a matter of incrementalism versus some dramatic step? caller: i think so. i think once you get everybody used to the idea of the reality or the new reality, then you can start exploring the bigger ideas. what we are doing now, you don't want to immediately -- we'll cars. host: steve is next, says we are doing too much. where are we doing too much on climate change? caller: i think we are doing too much. i think we are not doing the right kind of things. like this one gentleman sent a

moment ago, we used to go into a forest and cut down all the dead trees and clean that out and we don't do that anymore. or man does it by matches. they are building homes like crazy. taking farmland and putting homes on it. there is no watershed anymore, the water just runs off arian out in california, they have this drought. they were not thinking too good. they should have thought about that years ago. there are ways of doing it, now it is getting to a point where it is a most impossible to do it. get a watershed, take care of it. you would not have all of this mess that you had right now. they were putting money into things in the past that should not have been done. not putting it in this. even though, i can't think of -- the hoover dam.