Republican White House hopeful Rick Santorum appeared on HBO's "Real Time with Bill Maher" Friday night, ready to push his polished narrative on climate change. But Maher didn't allow his misinformation to go unchallenged.
When Maher told Santorum that the irrefutable evidence says climate change is mostly man-made, Santorum's response was predictable.
"There was a survey done of 1,800 scientists, and 57 percent said they don't buy off on the idea that CO2 is the knob that's turning the climate," Santorum said. "There's hundreds of reasons the climate has changed."
You'll want to keep reading below for Maher's perfect and hilarious retort.
"Rick," Maher said slowly, "I don't know what ass you're pulling that out of."
In case there's still a shred of doubt, here are the facts.
Multiple studies published in peer-reviewed scientific journals show that 97 percent or more of actively publishing climate scientists agree: Climate-warming trends over the past century are very likely due to human activities. In addition, most of the leading scientific organizations worldwide have issued public statements endorsing this position. The following is a partial list of these organizations, along with links to their published statements and a selection of related resources.
Sadly, Santorum and his ilk have no desire to reveal the truth. He claimed that the president's policies to help mitigate climate change would cost the jobs of many of his constituents, which happen to be in the coal industry.
Maher reminded Santorum of an inconvenient truth. "There are twice as many jobs in solar as there are in coal now," the host said. "You are living in the past."
It's worse. Rick Santorum is not only living in the past—he is living a lie.