CNN's climate correspondent says network's 7-hour climate change town hall isn't enough
CNN chief climate correspondent Bill Weir suggested on Wednesday that his network's marathon town hall event isn't long enough to sufficiently tackle the issue of climate change. Ten of the leading 2020 Democratic candidates are set to appear in a lengthy session focused on the "climate crisis" and spanning seven hours, with each of the candidates allotted roughly 40 minutes. The town hall is taking place on Wednesday night. The participants include former Housing and Urban Development Secretary Julian Castro; businessman Andrew Yang; Sen. Kamala Harris, D-Calif.; Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn.; former Vice President Joe Biden; Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt.; Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.; South Bend, Ind., Mayor Pete Buttigieg; former congressman Beto O'Rourke; and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J. CNN ANALYST CLAIMS MELTING ICE CAPS WILL LEAVE US CITIES 'ENGULFED IN FLOODS' Appearing on CNN's "New Day," Weir explained why the network was pursuing a climate-focused event with the presidential hopefuls. "There was so much cry out from those voters who will caucus for Democrats or independents who put this topic at the very top of their concern list," Weir said. "And many were calling for a dedicated climate debate with all 10 on stage. The DNC didnt go for that for whatever reason. And so we thought: 'Why don't make it happen?'" He continued: "Look, Im biased. I think we could do a town hall a day on this and it wouldnt be enough to cover it because its everything. Its everything in our lives, from energy to politics to geopolitics to psychology to history." Weir will appear alongside CNN anchors Anderson Cooper, Chris Cuomo, Don Lemon, Erin Burnett, and Wolf Blitzer throughout the night. One of the town hall participants, Yang, called on CNN to reschedule the program and focus on Hurricane Dorian.