In Uganda, Being Gay is Now a Crime
COSTELLO: A legal fight over climate change about to go down in the U.S. Supreme Court. Republican-led states are fighting an Obama administration edict that requires power plants to limit carbon emissions -- those gases are blamed for global warning. Republicans say the President's edict is an epic power grab over something many conservatives say isn't even happening.</s>SEN. TED CRUZ (R), TEXAS: You know I'm always troubled by a theory that fits every perfect situation. You know back in the 70s, I remember the 70s we were told there was global cooling. And everyone was told global cooling was a really big problem. And then that faded. And then we were told by Al Gore and others there was global warming. And that was going to be a big problem. And then, it morphed. It wasn't global warming anymore. It became climate change. And the problem with climate change is that there has never been a day in the history of the world in which the climate has not changed.</s>COSTELLO: Now it's one thing to argue over how to lessen global warming. It's quite another to deny it's even happening. There is overwhelming scientific evidence that our climate is changing and that we are, in part to blame. Yet some very vocal Americans, like Senator Ted Cruz, continue to debate what is surely fact -- the question is why? I wrote an op-ed on CNN.com exploring that very question. And what I found was surprising. "Just 42 percent of adults in the United States have a great deal of confidence in the scientific community. And it's easy to understand why. Most Americans can't even name a living scientist. I suspect the closest many Americans get to a living, breathing scientist is the fictional Dr. Sheldon Cooper from CBS' sitcom, 'The Big Bang Theory.' Sheldon is brilliant, condescending and narcissistic. So whose trust would he actually inspire?" With now Dr. Anthony Leiserowitz, the director of the Yale Project on Climate Change Communications; his group has been studying the why question for more than a decade. Welcome.</s>ANTHONY LEISEROWITZ, DIRECTOR, YALE PROJECT ON CLIMATE CHANGE: Thank you, Carol. It's great to be with you.</s>COSTELLO: Nice to have you here. So let's clear up one myth, do the majority of Americans deny climate change?</s>LEISEROWITZ: No, they don't and that's a really important points. We find out that about two-thirds of Americans believe that climate change is real. And in fact we see more broadly that there are six very different kinds of responses to climate change in the United States, six different Americas if you will. For example we find that about 15 percent of Americans are alarmed about climate change. They think it's happening. It's human cause and a very serious problem. About a quarter of Americans are concerned about climate change. They think it's happening and human caused and serious but they tend to think that the impacts are going to be more distant. Then there is another quarter that we call the cautious. These are people who think it's happening, human-cause -- I'm sorry. Actually the cautious are still confused. They are still time to figure out it is happening or not, human caused or natural. Then a very small group we call the disengaged, it's about five percent. These are people who don't know anything about the issue. Then 15 percent we call the doubtful. These are people who think it's not happening but if it is, it's natural. Nothing that humans had anything to do with, nothing we can do anything about.</s>COSTELLO: Let's just talk about --</s>LEISEROWITZ: And then last but not least is the --</s>COSTELLO: Right the dissenters right -- that very vocal group of dissenters is the last group.</s>LEISEROWITZ: Yes, yes.</s>COSTELLO: And they are the ones who deny climate change is happening. Who are they?</s>LEISEROWITZ: That's right. So that group we call the dismissive. And these are people who are firmly convinced it's not happening, not human caused and not a serious problem. And in fact about three- quarters of this group and it's about 15 percent of the public believe that climate change is a conspiracy. They think that it's scientists making up facts, that it's a U.N. plot to take away American sovereignty. That it's a plot by Al Gore as we just heard Ted Cruz talk about. You know all of which has nothing whatsoever to do with the basic, fundamental science in what you alluded to before is that the scientific community based upon the evidence, 97 percent of climate scientists agree that climate change is happening and human-caused. And yet this issue has become deeply divisive in our politics.</s>COSTELLO: Well my research also found that those very loud climate deniers are backed by lots and lots of money. A recent study by Drexel University found that conservative foundations and others have bankrolled climate denial to the tune of $558 million between 2003 and 2010. Who are these wealthy climate deniers?</s>LEISEROWITZ: Yes so there are two main camps, one is the obvious camp and that is the fossil fuel producers. They are perfectly happy with the current energy system of coal and oil and natural gas because that's -- they are making more money than anybody else on the planet using and continuing to burn this old energy source. But the other is the ideological opposition and that's what you're talking about with these conservative think tanks. They are deeply distrustful of climate change because they are afraid of the potential solution. Climate change is not something that we can all solve through our own individual voluntary behavior. Yes we can make a difference by turning out the lights and buying a more fuel-efficient car and saving energy. But it's only going to be a small piece of what ultimately is going to require and national and yes global solution to this problem. And that violates some of their fundamental distrust about government and the role of government in society.</s>COSTELLO: Right because it's going to -- the government will have to play a role. And for small government I'm sure people who believe in small government, that's really not something they want so see. So --</s>LEISEROWITZ: That's right.</s>COSTELLO: -- I could ask you solutions but it would take too long. But thank you so much for explaining this. We really appreciate it. And if you want to read my op-ed, on why are we still debating climate change go to CNN.com/opinion. Also, this morning, the African nation of Uganda, history is being made. And it's rolling back the clock by decades. With a stroke of a pen, Uganda's President created a new crime, being gay. The decision to outlaw homosexuality has turned international anger and even Uganda's President has waffled back and forth on signing the measure. CNN's Zain Verjee is in the capital where she conducted an exclusive interview with the President. Tell us about it, Zain.</s>ZAIN VERJEE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Carol. I have never heard so much about oral sex from a presidential press conference ever. I was blushing enormously. And at the end of it, CNN got a special statement that was signed by the President Yoweri Museveni which basically ends that homosexuals should rehabilitate themselves and society should assist them do so. That's also the majority of opinion here in Uganda. We had an exclusive interview with him just a short while ago. And he told the West to basically stay out of African politics. Don't impose your ideas, your values on to African culture. He said that being homosexual is disgusting, unnatural and not a human right. Earlier, I asked him whether his views and his actions are going to take Uganda backwards. Here is what he had to say on that press conference.</s>YOWERI MUSEVENI, PRESIDENT OF UGANDA: We have been disappointed for a long time by the conduct of the West, the world conducted (inaudible). But we just keep quiet. We just see how you do things, how the families, how they organized. All these things. We see them. We keep quiet. We never comment, because it is not our country. Maybe you like it. So this is now an attempt at social imperialism, to impose social values of one group on our society. Then our disappointment is now exacerbated, because we are sorry to see that you live the way you live. But we keep quiet about it. Now, you say you must also live like us. We said no. If the west doesn't want to work with us because of homosexuals, and then we would have enough space here to live by ourselves and do business with other people.</s>VERJEE: I was pretty floored by the scathing reaction to the West and just saying, this is a no-go area, stay out of it. Carol I just want to give you an idea of the kind of how harsh this new law is going to be. If you are homosexual and is charged and convicted, the first time you end up in jail, 14 years. After that a maximum sentence of life in prison. If you know anyone who is gay or if you counsel anyone who is gay, if you don't report it, if you know that someone is a homosexual, you can be thrown in jail. So the message today from Entebbe in Uganda from the president to the United States and the West and rights groups, is butt out -- Carol.</s>COSTELLO: Wow. Zain Verjee, reporting live from Uganda. We're back in a minute.