CNN Anchor Blames Asteroid on Global Warming

By Jazz Shaw

We’ve seen some pretty incredible things blamed on Global Warming over the years, ranging from hurricanes, tornadoes and blizzards to earthquakes and plunging penguin populations. But for your Sunday morning entertainment, one anchor at CNN may have finally set the bar higher than anyone else shall ever manage. Deb Feyerick was caught by the folks at Newsbusters chatting with Bill Nye, “the science guy” and suggesting that an entirely different phenomenon might be pinned on the changing climate.

CNN anchor Deb Feyerick asked Saturday afternoon if an approaching asteroid, which will pass by Earth on February 15, “is an example of, perhaps, global warming?”

Moments earlier, before an ad break, she segued from the Northeast blizzard to a segment with Bill Nye “the science guy,” by pointing to global warming: “Every time we see a storm like this lately, the first question to pop into a lot of people’s minds is whether or not global warming is to blame? I’ll talk to Bill Nye, ‘the science guy,’ about devastating storms and climate change.”

Read the rest at Hot Air.

Before you think this was just one slip by a quick-pivoting news anchor, bear in mind that there are others in the global warming “science” community advancing a theory that global warming could indeed be to blame for asteroid strikes. See here:

Global Warming Claimed to Increase Asteroid Risk – EcoEnquirer

43 Responses to CNN Anchor Blames Asteroid on Global Warming

  1. Rob N. Hood February 11, 2013 at 2:02 pm #

    Excerpt: “Some large meteoroids have skimmed the outer reaches of Earth’s atmosphere, skipping off back into outer space”, said Professor Charles Boyle, chairman of U. of M.’s Near-Earth Asteroid Team (NEAT). “As the atmosphere warms, it expands outward, potentially capturing large asteroids that would have otherwise been a near-miss.”

    The article also noted that other scientists/researchers were not on board with this hypothesis, and further study is needed. So wow, those crazy scientists, eh?! Making statements about things that appear plausible based on what they already know (in this case physics and meteoroids) and conjecture from there in the form of a hypothesis that needs further research! The nerve! Oh and that wacky news anchor, sheesh, where did she get such a loony idea? Oh, from some scientists in an article… nevermind.

  2. NEILIO February 11, 2013 at 3:56 pm #

    http://ds9.ssl.berkeley.edu/lws_gems/3/layers.htm
    That is just ridiculous, as in worthy of ridicule. Here’s some ridicule….. If there hasn’t been any warming for the last 15 years, how can there be any expansion of the atmosphere? Seriously, even if there is expansion by AGW, and the mesosphere has expanded out further into space, they would have had to send orbiting sattelites to a farther out orbit because they would start to burn up. Because contrary to popular belief sattelites orbit within our atmosphere, they orbit within the thermosphere. And there is still a level above that called the exosphere. Now it is only logical to assume that if that were the case this would have been trumpeted in the media as proof of global warming. But, like most every other person on Earth, we have not heard of this theory until now that an idiotic CNN anchor asked an idiotic question.
    Now if the thermosphere offers practically no air resistance whatsoever, so little in fact that that is where we’ve always put sattelites, and there has been no moving of sattelites to an higher orbit, how can global warming even be an insignificant factor in determining where an asteroid “skips” across our atmosphere and changes it’s orbital trajectory into one that could intercept the Earth’s orbit causing a catastrophic collision?
    Now, let’s say for the sake of argument that this is even a possible consequence of an expanded atmosphere due to AGW. It takes hundreds of years for these asteroids to orbit the Sun. So even if this postulated effect on asteroids is occuring, the one that is in question hasn’t been anywhere near the Earth in 100’s to 1000’s to possibly 10,000’s of years, and thus could not even be remotely affected by any AGW that has obstensively only occured within the last century here on old Mother Earth. It was a ridiculous postulation by the CNN anchor. And it is worthy of ridicule.

  3. Rob N. Hood February 11, 2013 at 4:23 pm #

    Oh right- there hasn’t been any warming. I forgot. My bad. What a fool I am. Good thing this site has such a sage as a boots-on-the-ground HVAC technician “Neilio” to correct all the mistakes and misinformation occurring world-wide. All he has to do is pull out the trump card of “no warming”. End of story, end of discussion, end of the abounding fools. It is a never-ending job however for a knight in shining armour. Or is that duct tape? Not sure…

    • NEILIO February 12, 2013 at 1:50 am #

      If you can’t counter what I say with a counter argument, then why bother? I don’t believe the atmosphere is swelling out into space because of global warming. So sue me. Maybe I’m wrong and Professor Boyle is the next Einstein, or Copernicus. I think he’s wrong. I think he’s just looking for some grant money. And now that he has postulated a theory that has to do with global warming, odd as it is, he will get a grant to “study” the “problem” regardless of the fact I think it ridiculous.
      As far as being an HVAC technician, if you think about it, my degree is an AAS degree. You may not know what AAS means because it is so far below your lofty degree, and therefore not worthy of your attention, it means Associate of Applied Sciences. What part of your lofty degree has anything to do related to science again? As I recall, isn’t your degree in Psychology? What part of your degree has any relation to air pressure, temperature, or volume? Thermal expansion? Boyles law? (Ironic, I know.) What part of your degree qualifies you to address anything concerning the physical sciences?

      • Peter A. February 12, 2013 at 6:24 am #

        ‘…he will get a grant to “study” the “problem” regardless of the fact I think it ridiculous.’

        Which is another way of saying, ‘I think X is ridiculous, therefore it should not be studied!’ Don’t you think that’s rather – arrogant? Do researchers now need your approval and blessings before they can investigate what they think is important to them? I’ll admit the theory is implausible, but I don’t think that therefore gives me the right to claim that because of this the research in question should not receive funding; that’s not for me to decide.

        It has often been the case that important discoveries, often of a serendipitous nature, were made whilst the research that was being conducted concerned an area of knowledge that was not obviously related to the fortuitous discovery.

        • NEILIO February 12, 2013 at 7:24 am #

          So what? Even if that’s what I meant, which I didn’t, I’m not in charge of doling out grant money. It is not my decision to make. Does that mean that I can’t have an opinion on the matter? And If you read the post you’ll notice that I did say “Maybe I’m wrong and Professor Boyle is the next Einstein, or Copernicus.” How arrogant is that?

      • Rob N. Hood February 12, 2013 at 11:28 am #

        Well I have a B.S. (science) and M.S. (science), so there nyah nyah nayh.

        • NEILIO February 17, 2013 at 2:31 pm #

          What science? There are many branches. If your degree is not in a physical science branch, then your opinion is mute. My degree, though it be a lesser degree than yours, is in the physical sciences. I’ll ask again, do your degrees have any basis on temperature, pressure, Boyle’s law, thermodynamics, anything at all to do with physics? I’ll take your silence as a no.

  4. Peter A. February 12, 2013 at 6:00 am #

    Professor Charles Boyle doesn’t seem to realise just how vast, in terms of volume, the Earth’s atmosphere truly is. Even if a phenomenon such as global warming could cause the expansion that he fears so much, it would be by an infinitesimal amount in comparison with the original, pre-warming amount. He also appears to be unaware of the fact that the overwhelming majority of meteors that pass close by are of a size so small that they pose no threat to us, because they burn up upon entry into the atmosphere. If an asteroid, meteor or comet of sufficient mass to vaporise a large city or small state were detected heading our way, any slight extension of the atmosphere into space caused by global warming (assuming that such a thing is even possible in the first place), would make virtually no difference to the dreaded object’s trajectory, a trajectory that would be determined by gravitational influences, not atmospheric friction.

    As for the news presenter, she was obviously a poor choice to interview Nye about this particular topic. Her boss made a mistake in selecting her for the task; no big deal, just unfortunate.

    • NEILIO February 12, 2013 at 7:32 am #

      Spot on Janus.

      • Peter A. February 12, 2013 at 6:06 pm #

        Janus – the Roman god of gates, doors, beginnings and endings. He is represented in sculpture with two faces, one facing forward (future), the other behind (past). Why are you calling me two-faced?

      • Peter A. February 12, 2013 at 6:47 pm #

        Never mind, you don’t need to answer, I already know why. You, like so many others these days, seem to believe that it isn’t possible for a person to have political views that are eclectic, views that cannot be easily pigeon-holed into the overly-simplistic dichotomy of ‘Right’ or ‘Left’. Well, I’ve got news for you mister; it IS possible, and as far as I’m concerned anyone who is willing to place their mind within such a restrictive, socially-approved straight-jacket of senseless conformity is either not terribly bright, lacks character development, or both.

        The inane and asinine requirement these days to place oneself on a political spectrum (Left, Centre, Right) is a major reason why the world is so stuffed up. Dogmatists such as yourself are too narrow-minded to see the bigger picture, and are too immature to even make the effort to transcend their own biases, intellectual limitations and infantile obsessions.

        If I were to come across convincing evidence that supported the notion of AGW, and if such evidence showed no signs of having been skewed to reflect a particular prejudice regarding this issue, I would be more than happy to re-think the whole issue and, if necessary, change my stance regarding it. Would you? Something tells me you wouldn’t. A willingness to be flexible enough to change one’s mind, in the face of new evidence, is the sign of an evolved character; a stubborn adherence to a political philosophy (in your case extreme nationalism and conservatism) is a sign of intellectual immaturity. Now, do please grow up, for you own sake. You won’t regret it.

        • Dan February 12, 2013 at 10:59 pm #

          Right and Left are false paradigms. There’s only right and wrong. Whenever two facts contradict each other, one is wrong. My personal objective is to find out which is which. Sadly, many people simply adopt the fact or set of facts that conveniently fits their programmed dogma. The volume of conflicting information and misinformation that bombards us daily can be overwhelming, so it’s understandable. We can’t always take the time required to objectively analyze every factual conflict that arises.

        • Rob N. Hood February 13, 2013 at 9:33 am #

          Well said.

          • Rob N. Hood February 13, 2013 at 9:34 am #

            That well said above was for Peter. Dan has contradicted himself again. He’s still “black and white” and as such it’s his way or the highway.

  5. Rob N. Hood February 12, 2013 at 11:36 am #

    Janus… I see what you did there Mr. AAS. (BTW- I have nothing against your degreee nor think mine is much better regarding these issues, perhaps even worse per se, but that doesn’t really mean much as we are trying to logically discuss things of great complexity that even are unknowns to the real experts. You do seem a bit defensive about it. I believe HVAC “technician” is the correct term, correct me if I’m wrong (I know you will). It is what you are. You are not a physicist, astronomer, scientist, etc. (and neither am I- we both have and are trying to educate ourselves about these things, I at least remain skeptical about all angles of it, you have your mind made up which makes you appear to be smarter than the real smart people).

  6. Peter A. February 16, 2013 at 12:48 am #

    I should have been far more diligent and not so easily taken in, but the website you link to above – ecoEnquirer – is a joke website; it is NOT meant to be taken seriously. How can I be so certain? Well, they have stories like:

    * Weather Wars and Area 51
    * Levitating Islands Captured by Spy Satellite
    * Vatican Sued over Katrina, and (one of my favourites)
    * Antarctic Ice Increasing AND Decreasing

    The person – yes, you Dan McGrath – who made the decision to get all hot-and-bothered by presenting yet more ‘evidence’ that environmentalists were descending to a whole new low in their efforts to ‘prove’ the AGW phenomenon, by linking this article at this website, should have (like the rest of us, including myself) bothered to actually read some of their other stories before taking any of it seriously.

    ‘…bear in mind that there are others in the global warming “science” community advancing a theory that global warming could indeed be to blame for asteroid strikes’, you claim. Well, actually, no. No one in the ‘science community’ could conceivably make such a ludicrous connection, and this fact alone should have alerted us to the possibility that the whole thing was a hoax. Shame on all of us for being so gullible 🙁

  7. Boyle February 16, 2013 at 8:49 pm #

    Boyle? As in Boyle’s Law? As in Robert Boyle, 17th century chap? And they’re doing their calculations by moving a couple of billiard balls around near one another? That didn’t set off any alarm bells? Seriously?

  8. Jeremiah February 20, 2013 at 10:24 pm #

    OK… so people are supposed to believe a post on a website that looks like it was made by a third grader? Seriously, I think the I.Q. level of Americans is a bigger problem than global warming now. Not really. But the fact is, and there is no denying this, GLOBAL WARMING IS HAPPENING. There is proof, such as the accelerated melting of the polar ice caps, the rise in temperatures in the U.S. and other nations, and so on. In Israel, it recently SNOWED. That has only happened once in Israel. It is ABNORMAL.
    If you think climate change is a hoax, you are either too stubborn to accept the fact that humans are causing it, you’re really dim, or you have some form of mental illness.

  9. Rob N. Hood February 21, 2013 at 5:01 pm #

    Uh oh Peter… now you’ve done it. Due to your added logic and reason, this site has FROZEN. Which is unusual, and also ironic, eh?

    • Peter A. February 23, 2013 at 1:32 am #

      Yes, what’s going on here? Where has everyone gone to? This, the last story, dates back to the 11th. Is this normal? Have you run out of stories? Come on people, I want something else to criticise and make fun of (like some of your responses). Hey Rob, do you think they just all died of embarrassment at being so easily taken in and made a fool of?

      Anyone home… ???

  10. Peter A. February 23, 2013 at 1:47 am #

    Helloooo…. Neilio? Dan? Look, we can all make stupid mistakes like this, it’s not something to be ashamed of… (on second thoughts, maybe it is). It doesn’t cost much time and effort to check one’s sources, and I would have thought that, being the (ahem) staunch professional journalists that you two are (lol), that you wouldn’t have made such a basic error in judgement.

    I mean, seriously, how could you have been so careless? It’s just not good enough!

    • Dan February 25, 2013 at 10:44 pm #

      Doesn’t look like a mistake to me, since the paper is sourced and available elsewhere. We sometimes post stories here that are outrageous, and without comment, because we assume our readers have enough intelligence to see the absurd for what it is. Likewise, spoofy sites (like the Onion) sometimes mix real stories in with their satire. Maybe it’s not a good policy, since it seems to cause much confusion, but the bottom line, is yeah… Some loonies out there think driving cars and making widgets will attract deadly asteroids.

      • Rob N. Hood February 26, 2013 at 10:03 am #

        Nice trolling too.

  11. Rob N. Hood February 23, 2013 at 10:14 am #

    This is pretty unusual, it sort of happened once before but not for this long. Methinks along with the embarrassment, mostly thanks to you (I’ve stopped trying that hard due to burn out I suppose, although sometimes it still isn’t that hard to accomplish) they may be having internal changes, or even realizing this site isn’t even really needed anymore since the waters have been muddied long enough that most people have lost significant interest. Who knows, I don’t really care. I used this site to expose their continual hypocrisy about various things and their illogic and lack of reasoning. Not to mention they lack other die-hards here to fight the meager “attacks” by me and now you. It’s become a rather academic issue it seems to me, for all those reasons, in addition to the lack of real commitment by the USA to take the lead on alternative energy seriously. Other countries will and probably already have overtaken the US on new technologies of this type. That’s what happens to all empires eventually. They become bogged down in complaciency, elitests’ greed, and the maintaintence of the status quo which of course benefits the current elites.

    They’ve used up all the “good” material long ago and it’s come to this. But the resources feeding exercises such as this one are virtually bottomless, so I won’t be surprised if it does continue. Maybe they have sent Neil in for genuine wing-nuttery training and he’ll be back good as new soon. Either that or he’s being genetically replaced by a Reptilian in an underground base somewhere.

    • Peter A. February 23, 2013 at 8:10 pm #

      It’s also possible that their funding for the maintenance of this site just dried up, because their sponsors and/or supporters lost interest or couldn’t see any reason to continue supporting this. I clicked on the ‘advertisements’ link above, but it was not at all revealing. The advertisements displayed all have ‘Franklin’ written at the bottom, but they could be almost anyone. So much for transparency.

      Oh well, it was fun while it lasted. If I was in any way responsible for this… um, ‘calamity’ (possible, but unlikely), I just have this to say – it serves you right for acting like complete assholes when I called into question the motives behind some of the more disgusting and unethical actions of various U.S. governments over the last 60 years. Now, as I watch your empire crumble, I can only say, ‘I told you so’.

      Time to move on. Maybe I can take down another website. The N.R.A. one perhaps; it would be the least I could do for those brain-dead bastards who think the most important thing in the world is having the ‘right’ to pull triggers that result in a big ‘BOOM’! Childish simpletons the lot of them.

  12. Dan February 25, 2013 at 10:52 pm #

    Silly Mr. Hood. We’ve gone far longer without new posts – when we’re crazy busy. That’s why Neil’s here – as a volunteer. He posts articles that interest him when they come to his attention. I try to keep up on the latest AGW news, but there isn’t much of note lately and I’m far more concerned with state issues. GCS is a side-project of Minnesota Majority. I know you lefties all think every conservative organization that dares question the “collective” that George Soros is so keen to bring about must be getting money from those uber-rich oil bastards known collectively as the Koch Brothers, but (not for lack of trying) those guys have their own agenda and we aren’t getting a dime over here. :(. Please send us some money, Koch Foundation, so we can hire another person to keep this liberal cap-and-trader plant who calls himself Rob-N-Hood entertained! Pretty please?!

    I’ll let you know when that fat check arrives.

    I’m going to have to censure myself for these comments now. See you in a while.

  13. Rob N. Hood February 26, 2013 at 10:00 am #

    Actually Dan, I have come out against cap and trade, as have many Left-wing types. There goes another of your talking points down the drain, again (how many times do I have to repeat myself, enough to keep the clicking on your sad little “poor” site?). And why is good ol’Neil having a hard time coming up with current (and dire) skeptic news? Is it because your side already won this, another propaganda war? And if you aren’t, as you claim, receiving any funding from the fossil fuel “fossils” I can only believe you aren’t half as smart as you think you are. Though such a claim is dubious at best- these things can easily be laundered in any way shape or form they choose. Be that as it may, we all await Neil’s new and improved Reptilian presence. That is if he can uncover more devious Left-wing conspiracies to enslave all mankind via vast unsubstantiated transfer of wealth and power to George Soros and Al Gore. I mean when, not if. In the meantime Dan, keep up the “good” fight against unfettered voting (WHAT, YOU WANT MORE GOVERNMENT REGULATIONS FOR THAT??) and less government for everything else, especially that which somehow magically benefits fossils like the Koch brothers.

  14. NEILIO March 1, 2013 at 9:35 pm #

    Sssssss, ssst. Sss ss ssssss, sss, sst sss. Tssss!

    • Dan March 1, 2013 at 10:13 pm #

      Oh no! They’re right! We’ve allowed a sleestak into our midst!

      • NEILIO March 2, 2013 at 5:56 am #

        Just a new and improved reptilian presence.

    • anonymous September 30, 2013 at 2:36 pm #

      Nuthin wrong wit snakes

  15. Rob N. Hood March 2, 2013 at 11:53 am #

    Silly is right. “Who let the Reptiles out? sst sst stt!”

    They are kind cute though. All full of themselves. Gestating a long time just like real reptiles do. Shedding some skin perhaps.

  16. NEILIO March 2, 2013 at 4:14 pm #

    Comedy is not your thing. You should stick to being a *ick.

  17. Rob N. Hood March 4, 2013 at 1:54 pm #

    Once again we disagree. I was mostly making an analogy or metaphor, not trying to be funny per se. So sorry if comedy is required for this site, I didn’t know. I see you haven’t changed much, yet. The re-reprogramming still in process…

    • NEILIO March 4, 2013 at 6:44 pm #

      I am not changing, well maybe just in the way I deal with you. I am just tired of arguing with you. It is pointless. And unproductive. And I have better things, more important things to do with my time.

  18. Rob N. Hood March 5, 2013 at 9:00 am #

    Contradiction alert. See above… Perhaps you can get on track by telling us why there has been no new articles here. What’s wrong, are you guys running out of ammo (because your “side” is winning?)?

    • NEILIO March 5, 2013 at 4:23 pm #

      If you are getting bored, you are free to leave.

  19. Rob N. Hood March 6, 2013 at 12:51 pm #

    Someone has to keep things interesting don’t they? Here, I’ll help you out on that again:

    The rise of the Tea Party and the renewal of the culture wars have resulted in a Republican Party which is now considered the party of anti-science. Similarly, right-wing politicians, media, talk show hosts and other conservative pundits loudly and widely spread the message that a culture of questioning is antithetical to the American way of life. Moreover, this message is also promoted by conservative groups such as The American Legislative Exchange Council, (ALEC) which has “hit the ground running in 2013, pushing ‘model bills’ mandating the teaching of climate change denial in public school systems.” The climate-change-denial machine is also promoted by powerful conservative groups such as the Heartland Institute.

  20. Rob N. Hood March 6, 2013 at 4:23 pm #

    And then there’s this:

    On Friday afternoon, The New York Times discontinued the Green blog, the paper’s one-stop shop for environment-related news. Then on Monday, the Washington Post announced it was pulling its star climate reporter, Juliet Eilperin, off of the beat and putting her on an “online strike force” covering the White House.

    All of this can only mean one of two things: 1) The environment is fine, 2) imminent global catastrophe is not as interesting as photo essays of matching, over-upholstered apartments in Manhattan or, 3) the skeptic propaganda has worked and no one cares anymore.

  21. Neilio March 7, 2013 at 10:33 pm #

    See, amusing yourself isn’t all that hard. Good for you.

  22. Rob N. Hood March 8, 2013 at 2:46 pm #

    derp, at least I’m on topic for a change, da derp…

  23. anonymous September 26, 2013 at 7:17 pm #

    I think the fact that climate change caused an asteroid to pass near earth is complete bull. I don think that we can partially blame climate change for other things. not necessarily causing storms (e.g. hurricanes, tornadoes, blizzards, etc.) but we can partially blame it for the intensity of these extremes.

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