This is what global warming looks like

>>> welcome back to "the ed show." it's getting harder and harder for republicans to pretend global warming isn't real. the fact is we are in the grip of the hottest summer on record. here's another fact. this heat wave fueled the storm that hammered seven states this weekend. 22 people have died. more than a million families in seven states will not have power tomorrow on the fourth of july. meteorologists from nasa and to the weather channel think sunday's storm was unusually powerful. it spawned hurricane force winds in north carolina . storms like this pop up every summer, but this one was huge. and this is why. meteorologists say the heat wave made the storm much more powerful. we broke 40,000 daily heat records so far this year. that's twice as many as last year. folks, it's getter hotter. people who deny global warming said it's getting hot every summer. colorado has never seen fires like this. 10,000 firefighters will spend july 4th beating back the flames in neent degree heat. meteorologists and climate experts say we're seeing the effects of global warming right now. but senator james enhoff said they're playing politics. he said it was only a matter of time before someone came out and wanted for political gain to link global warming to recent events, these scare tactics have always backfired and they will this time. enhoff thinks it's two extensive to address the problem.

>> you realize i was on your side of the issue when i was chairing the committee. i thought it must be true until i found out what it cost.

>> it's all about the money. they're in charge of the environmental policy in the country, the only way for you to address global warming is to vote him out and the rest of the guys who are in denial. let's turn to eugene robinson . pulitzer prize winning columnist for the washington post . great to have you with us. you have done some great work about this, wrote about it today. is this what climate change looks like?

>> this is absolutely what climate change looks like. welcome to the rest of our lives. this is what it's going to be like. one of the predictions of the scientists and their predictions, by the way, across the board have been conservative today rather than outlandish. one of the predictions is not only does it get warmer but we see more extreme weather events . let me tellio, what happened here friday was an extreme weather event the likes of which washington has never seen. it has never seen this kind of storms with hurricane force winds. it was just amazing, and we're going to see more of it. we're absolutely going to see more of it.

>> a new poll from the washington post shows most people don't think climate change is the top environmental problem. 29% say it's water and air pollution . have americans lost focus? that same poll shows 78% believe global warming is a serious problem. i mean, this has got to be a wakep call. but if you have legislators in denial, where do we go?

>> continue the education, and unfortunately, more events like we saw and more heat records. 109 degrees in nashville the other day. 108 degrees in columbia, south carolina . more of this sort of thing is going to concentrate the divide. i hope it is sooner rather than later. inevitably, we're going to see this as important as it is seen, for example, in the rest of the world where global warming is a huge issue.

>> a great point. what is the rest of the world saying about the united states ? we sit here in denial. our lawmakers do. oh, by the way, what ever happened to cap and trade?

>> right, what ever happened to cap and trade, which was once a republican idea, but there are a lot of rn republican ideas they can't stomach these days. it's not just the united states . china, china's emissions, green house gas emissions have gone through the roof. india is rising. brazil, russia, the industrializing countries, so it's bigger than just the united states . the united states , i think, has to, and should play a leadership role if we get onboard, and if we lead, i think others will follow. my prediction, frankly, is that china is going to way beat us to solar energy technology.

>> sure. they're taking it right from us right now when it comes to manufacturing solar panels and what not. they're undercutting us like crazy. the president obviously was handed a tough assignment when he stepped into the oval office . there was a lot on his plate. if he wins reelection, there's a lot of talk about him going down the road of immigration. what about this issue? you have 78% of american people who think global warming is a real problem. and he wins a second term, would this be the right time to do something?

>> i think it absolutely would. and very frankly, there's a whole lot of pent up demands from environmentalists on this issue and on other issues. waiting for the president to really lead on these issues. i think a second term, there's a rich opportunity here for him to leave a legacy. a president who begins the energy transformation of this economy, the world's largest economy. and really puts it on the right course, is going to go down in history as having done a great thing.

>> eugene robinson , you have a great fourth.

>> you, too.

>> thank you.

>> he's never served in the military, but tea party congressman joe walsh is attacking a double amp tee for talking about her service. next, i'll talk with lieutenant colonel tammy duckworth about walsh's unbelievable comments.

>>> and republicans are attacking chief justice john roberts . they say the supreme court 's health care ruling is flawed. our panel will weigh in on the real problem. stay tuned. [