Bill Nye debates Rep Marsha Blackburn on climate change

Bill Nye The Science Guy asked for action to address climate change during a debate Sunday with Tennessee Republican Rep. Marsha Blackburn. Blackburn, the vice chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, argued on NBC's "Meet the Press" that climate science is unproven. "There is no consensus," she said. But Nye strongly disagreed. "There is no debate in the scientific community. And I encourage the congresswoman to look at the facts," Nye, the former children's educational personality said in the debate. "We need you to change things, not to deny what's happening." Nye argued that every available tool should be used to combat climate change. "The more we mess around with this denial, the less we're going to get done," he said. But Blackburn said that even if she were to agree that climate change is occurring, cost-benefit analyses of new laws and rules would still need to be completed before they were implemented. The climate change divide between President Barack Obama and congressional Republicans is also growing, NBC News reported. Republicans are pressing for construction of a new oil pipeline and to reduce regulations of energy production, while Obama is working to create rules that would impose limits on carbon pollution.