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John Oliver shows how to debate climate deniers

Dylan Matthews is a senior correspondent and head writer for Vox's Future Perfect section and has worked at Vox since 2014. He is particularly interested in global health and pandemic prevention, anti-poverty efforts, economic policy and theory, and conflicts about the right way to do philanthropy.

That climate change is occurring, and that humans are the primary cause, is beyond dispute at this point. Surveys have found that 97-98 percent of climate researchers and 97 percent of climate papers expressing a position on the subject agree with the consensus view that human-generated greenhouse gas emissions are causing climate change.

But you wouldn't know that if you were to watch most cable news debates on the subject, where the tiny minority expressing doubt about climate change generally receives equal billing with people explaining the actual science. That's really skewed, when you think about it. So John Oliver, on his new show Last Week Tonight decided it was time to do the debate right: three climate deniers faced off against 97 people representing the scientific consensus. And one of those 97, naturally, was Bill Nye the Science Guy:

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