John Oliver Gets Heated Up Over Climate Change on Last Week Tonight
After paying homage to stalwart Londoners in the wake of Saturday's terror attack, John Oliver dedicated the main story of Last Week Tonight to Earth, or as he calls it, "the adopted home world of Bjork.", Earlier this week, President Trump decided to pull the U.S. out of the Paris climate agreement, which Oliver did not find surprising as the agreement as a whole was so "off-brand" for Trump that it might as well be called "a light jog." According to Oliver, Trump's decision and failure to act on climate change could have dramatic global implications, because if the world heats up a mere two degrees Celsius, there will be more droughts, more drastic heat waves, and a serious effect on the world's water supply. "We are not talking about a fictional apocalypse like the one in the movie 2012, but a real global disaster like the movie 2012," explained Oliver. While Trump appeared to believe that the Paris agreement would be bad for business and forbid coal use in the U.S. Oliver noted, the document doesn't even contain the word coal. Instead, Oliver said, the Paris agreement allows each nation to sets its own climate goals and is voluntary. "Trump's description of the agreement is so flamboyantly deceptive it would be equally accurate to say compliance with the Paris agreement would likely require all ducks to wear jean shorts," said Oliver. "And it could cost each American five fish and a dump truck full of hamsters.", Now, as Oliver noted, it's up to governors, mayors, states and corporations to step up to slow climate change, and companies like Walmart, Bank of America, and Philip Morris International are answering the call. "It just feels inherently surprising," said Oliver. "It's like I just said, good news everyone Ebola, ISIS, and that dentist who shot Cecil the Lion are gonna save the planet for us."