Pro-Trump mayor of sinking island to debate Al Gore on CNN

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press


Updated 10:23 am, Tuesday, August 1, 2017


TANGIER, Va. (AP) — An enthusiastic Trump supporter who is mayor of a Virginia island that's sinking into the Chesapeake Bay will debate former Vice President Al Gore on climate change.

The Daily Times reports that Tangier Island mayor James "Ooker" Eskridge will appear at a CNN town hall that airs Tuesday at 9 p.m.

The show will discuss the policies of President Donald Trump, including his withdrawal from the Paris climate agreement.

Scientists warn that rising seas and erosion could force residents to abandon Tangier Island in 25 years. But Eskridge recently told CNN that erosion is the real threat, not sea-level rise.

Read more: http://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Pro-Trump-mayor-of-sinking-island-to-debate-Al-11723187.php

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http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.2441048.1448303662!/image/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/box_300_160/image.jpg

James "Ooker" Eskridge






Trump tells Tangier Island mayor not to worry about sea-level rise
Carol Vaughn, The (Salisbury, Md.) Daily Times Published 8:04 p.m. ET June 13, 2017


SALISBURY, Md. — President Trump phoned Tangier Island Mayor James "Ooker" Eskridge Monday after viewing a CNN report about the Virginia island's struggle with rising sea levels.

"He said not to worry about sea-level rise," Eskridge said. "He said, 'Your island has been there for hundreds of years, and I believe your island will be there for hundreds more.'"

During the CNN interview, Eskridge had said he loved Trump as much as he would a family member. When staffers brought the CNN report to Trump's attention, "he said, 'I've just got to talk to that guy,'" the mayor said.

In Monday's call, Eskridge told the president that Tangier Island is "a huge supporter of Donald Trump. ... This is a Trump island; we really love you down here."

More:
https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2017/06/14/trump-tells-tangier-island-mayor-not-worry-sea-level-rise/394688001/

[enough]

1. Not sure this is a good idea. Can Gore talk to this guy without seeming to be

punching down?

[Bradical79]

8. That's the problem with debatibg Republicans in general

They've lowered the bar so much that debate looks like an adult berating a 4 year old for believing in Santa Clause. In my opinion, the political devisivness is more of a reflection of an extreme general intelectual gap cultivated by Republicans over the last few decades.

[Hortensis]

32. Yes, he can and will. But those pubs offended by one of theirs coming off bad

will use every kind of insult and justification they can come up with for rejecting facts that they can think of, including that hoary old standard. Happens with every group those positions cannot stand up against simple truth: ignore the truth, attack the bearer.

[StevieM]

42. He certainly did a good job of debating Ross Perot back in the day. (eom)

[Drunken Irishman]

51. But not necessarily George W. Bush in 2000.

He can't over-coach. Just have a dialogue and he'll be fine. That was something he missed in the 2000 debates, and it probably helped cost him the election.

[NCjack]

2. Hey James, sell your island to Trump. Then, the "joke" will be on him. nt

[Not Ruth]

3. There is a momentum to climate change

Anything that we do today is to significantly effect change 83+ years from now. If you are looking for a fix for 25 years from now, put the houses on stilts.

[Botany]

4. Facts can be nasty

[progressoid]

22. Wow.

Willful ignorance.

[dixiegrrrrl]

44. Wow...good find.

Interesting to hear the watermen accents.
should be an interesting debate, most likely for us non-tv folks, will be on YouTube tomorrow.

[Warpy]

56. Sea walls have been found to increase erosion, not stop it

so it's just as well the project has been shelved for the wrong reasons. It's sad to see this island disappear along with the people who speak a dialect akin to the "hoi toiders" in eastern NC, another relatively isolated population of Cornishmen, but at this point it is inevitable as the oceans rise, year after year.

While sea rise is having an effect, I do agree that erosion is also having one. These little sandy bits of land offshore are fragile and their lifetimes are limited.

It's sad that he's expecting either Dolt45 or Jebus to save his ass. I doubt either will be inclined to.

[Botany]

58. A few years ago I went to a talk about ecological restoration and the speaker .....

...... put up a picture of jetty that went @ least 100 yards out into the ocean
from the beach @ a 90 degree angle ..... hundreds of tons of large boulders ....
to stop the beach sand from being washed away by horizontal currents that were
parallel to the beach. The speaker showed the same area after a hurricane and
all traces of the jetty were gone.

The oceans are big and strong. End of story.

Warpy.

[Aristus]

5. That this guy's nickname is "Ooker", and he's apparently okay with that,

tells me all I need to know about him...

[underpants]

10. Probably a local thing

Or maybe a name that stuck with him from childhood.

We went to Tangier Island in the early 80's. Strange little isolated island in the Bay. There was a noticeable Olde English dialect or accent amongst the town folks.

You'd think on an island there'd be a lot of boats but they are pretty poor so they can't afford a boat. Mostly live off the fishing companies and tourism. On the ferry there were appliances and a new born baby, it's the only way many people there have to get items from the "mainland".

When the Bay freezes the National Guard has to bring them food.

[redwitch]

54. I believe they are descended from immigrants from Cornwall.

Their isolation has caused them to retain their speech/accents for all this time. The people are known as Tangerines. I am so sorry they are Trump supporters.

[dixiegrrrrl]

45. We are blessed to have a fantastic handyman to rely on.

His family calls him...Gob.
His given name is Frank.
go figure.
Doesn't detract at all from the quality of his work.

[packman]

6. No win for Gore

He'll have facts, data, reason and science. The other guy will have emotion, Jesus, and blind cult love on his side. One will be an East Coast elitist, while the other a working class Joe. One will be the liberal, the other a good - ole boy who is the backbone of the American working class.
Gore should stay away from this landmine.

[Aristus]

12. Plus, his nickname is "Ooker".

Every toothless, inbred hillbilly in the country will be competing to hold his beer while he goes up against Al Gore.

[CatWoman]

35. ROFL

That name really rubs you the wrong way, doesn't it?

[lunasun]

27. I don't see the point myself. I personally would not waste my time unless he is fundraising for

an environment group and his pay is being donated or something
just a waste of time if not . Not worth the fuel to go there

[Old Vet]

7. You just cant debate a jesus freek, Its a no win situation

[lunasun]

29. Dats right Jesus the janitor will clean up the earth and make everything better for the good people

(only believers of course) . Bible tells them he will provide they don't have to do a thing they can pollute and ignore all warnings because it is temptation to think that climate change can be controlled by man and Jesus will be here any moment to take care of the good people
Others can float away for all these types care

[SergeStorms]

37. They've been waiting...

2,000 years for jebus to return, and no sign of him yet. He was supposed to come back in their lifetime (the people alive at the time of jebus's untimely crucifixion) but they've been putting it off for quite awhile now. Of course we get the "one second of god's time is a millennium for us" stuff, but they can make that book mean anything they want it to. That's the beauty of religion. Vagueness.

[lunasun]

39. Surely these rising waters are a sign he is coming soon !

[SergeStorms]

49. Didn't god promise........

not to drown everyone the next time he has a hissy fit? I think he promised it was going to be fire, or hamsters or something like that. It's been a while since I've read the "good book".

[genxlib]

9. It's a race

Sea Level Rise will devastate them.

Pollution and over-fishing from deregulation might get them first.

[OhZone]

11. but -

[sandensea]

13. And don't forget Seth Rich!

He died for our sins, you know.

[OhZone]

15. ikr! nt

[Scruffy1]

14. All this does is feed into false equivalency.

T heonly way to deal with this kind is ignore them.

[sandensea]

16. It's a smart move by the GOPee

For Gore, this is a case of damned if you do/damned if you don't.

If he debates the trumpkin, they'll spin it as a David-and-Goliath match between a pedantic millionaire and a "regular Joe."

If he refuses, he'll be slammed as a "coward" who blinked in the face of a regular Joe.

I'm nevertheless glad he accepted. This will give his message added publicity, and might even change a few undecided minds in the process.

[Funtatlaguy]

17. Gore will be fine.

These folks don't watch CNN.
They only watch Faux News, hunting and fishing shows, rasslin, NASCAR, and lesbian porn.

[Lucky Luciano]

18. Should be a Borowitz headline. nt

[kysrsoze]

19. Time to build a houseboat, dumbass. You can debate from there as you watch your town submerge.

Idiots...

[IronLionZion]

20. Why bother debating people bent on denial?

The mayor probably owns land and his job is tied to that island so it benefits him to deny what he sees with his own eyes.

I've seen the same types of attitudes from coal miners and retail workers who just can't accept the truth because they don't like it and their jobs depend on them not accepting it.

Trump owns coastal properties that will be affected. Mar a lago will be affected by rising sea levels.

[jpak]

21. The graphs the mayor cannot deny

[progressoid]

23. Wanna bet?

Botany posted this video of the mayor. He's a classic denier.

[Botany]

24. About 2 miles from where I am sitting right now is Ohio State's Institute of Polar Studies .....

....and it has literally millions of data points showing the link between % of atmospheric CO2 and global
temps in ice cores* but we still have millions of people in this state who talk about "global warming
skeptics" like they have some kind of credibility. One of the universal gas laws that goes back >
200 years shows that the more CO2 in a body of gas the more heat in can hold but because of the
likes of Fox, Rush, billions of $s from the fossil fuel businesses, and their Pastors they still think
what the video I am going to post is not real.

* some go back 450,000 years.

[jpak]

33. This was a shocker for me...don't know what r-squared was, but must be close to 1.0

Link to study...

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/354/6313/747

[Botany]

48. Here is another one

They used to isotopes* of O2 to calculate the temps ..... 400,000 +
years of data.

BTW we have passed the parts per million level that is on the top graph too.


I think it was oxygen 16 and oxygen 18

[lunasun]

31. Huh Fake Chinese Graphs . They ain't fallin for that . Hoax look away!! Damn Chinese and thier

climate change mumbo jumbo nope even the president will tell you that !!

[kwassa]

25. Um, sea level rise will cause erosion, Mayor Ooker.

Either way, you're sunk.

[LisaM]

26. A real debate? Or what passes for one these days?

In a real debate, each participant would know the issue, prepare, and be given the exact same amount of time to offer opening and closing statements, arguments, and rebuttals.

I doubt very much if this is what CNN intends to happen.

[Siwsan]

28. May I be so bold as to suggest a graphic for the debate?

[TlalocW]

30. Ooker in a previous life

TlalocW

[no_hypocrisy]

34. Good luck with that OOker. Vote for Trump's re-election under water.

[world wide wally]

36. Ultimately, it doesn't matter what Ooker says or thinks.

Just fast forward into the future and the debate is settled.

[Igel]

38. It's complicated.

For many, this is where the thinking stops:

“I’m not a believer in sea level rise, but if sea level rise is the angle it takes to get us a sea wall, I don’t care what they use,” said Moore. “Sea level rise, global warming, save the bugs — I don’t care. We need a sea wall. We need it now. We need it yesterday.”

http://www.dailypress.com/news/science/dp-tangier-island-at-risk-of-disappearing-without-quick-action-experts-say-20160916-story.html

The Bay's risen something like a foot in the last 100 years or so. More than a dozen other islands have vanished since they were mapped, many of them in the 1800s. Tangier Island's toast even without climate change, it's just that this is speeding it up a bit. From the point of view of the Islanders, which direction things are moving doesn't matter, but for the climate change argument it certainly does.

The island's subsiding at about 1/2 foot per century and has been for quite a while. The whole area is subsiding due to a factor completely out of human hands (thank you, crustal rebound). Didn't know until a little while ago that the mouth of the Bay was the cite of a meteor, and the area's an impact basin. But it's also subsiding because people pump water out of the aquifer.

There are three reasons for Tangier's fate. One's easily controllable (pumping), one's a bit harder to wrangle (anthropogenic climate change), the third's untouchable (rebound). Best not to attribute the entire relative sea-level rise to just one cause, even if it does make the discussion a bit harder for those who can't remember two things at once.

[dixiegrrrrl]

46. "the area's an impact basin"

Fascinating. Thanks for that info.

i actually hear him recognizing that the problem is because of changes in the sea, I would be tempted to use that as a basis for discussion, as in, what can people do who are affected by this problem?
debating/arguing why it happened is not productive for the people who are gonna drown soon, IMHO.
(die sooner, come autumn storm surges)

[gilligan]

40. Donny boy.

You can believe whatever you like. Hell I used to believe in Santa Claus. But climate change and rising sea levels as a result of climate change is no fucking fairy tale.

[lanlady]

41. The result of too much inbreeding

Seriously, Tangier is very insular and cut off - a good deal has been written over the years about the problem of inbreeding there. No wonder residents are all for Trump.

[StevieM]

43. I am looking forward to watching it. I still remember Gore decimating Ross Perot back in the day

in their CNN debate over NAFTA.

[Blue Owl]

47. The upturned pant cuffs are just for fashion

n/t

[thecrow]

50. Did this air yet?

It said Tuesday at 9pm, but was posted Tuesday. So did I miss it or is it next week, Tuesday, 8/8 ?
Thanks

[halobeam]

52. Yes, I looked it up and saw this..

https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/energy-environment/pro-trump-mayor-of-sinking-island-questions-al-gore-on-cnn/2017/08/01/88faae70-772a-11e7-8c17-533c52b2f014_story.html?utm_term=.856fc0acd7f7

[thecrow]

53. Thanks. Maybe they will air it again this weekend

Sorry I missed it. I have been to Tangiers Island. It's quaint, but land *is* at a premium.
It was kind of weird that people buried members of their family in their front yard!
Some of the yards appeared to have run out of room because there were so many tombstones.

[halobeam]

57. It could be on youtube already.

It's like from way back when people were buried on their land.. they just had much more of it lol!

[thecrow]

59. Thanks! Iwill look for it

[llmart]

55. If it's mostly Trump voters than I say...

I hope it sinks a little faster.