Fox News' Laura Ingraham went into attack mode against scientists who are warning New Yorkers to take precautions against the air pollution caused by the Canadian wildfires. In addition to making fun of TV reporters wearing masks to protect themselves and questioning why the woke media hasn't complained about China's chronic air pollution, she invited expert Steven Milloy on her show to explain why New Yorkers had nothing to be concerned about.
According to Wikiepedia, Milloy is lawyer and lobbyist known for challenging the science behind public protection policies. He has close ties to the tobacco and oil industries. He also has a mean streak.
Milloy told Ingraham that the particulate matter from the fire is simply "innocuous" "carbon particles." He said, "There's nothing in them. They have no effect. EPA has all this testing on real-life human beings it shows no effect. This is total junk science."
But the EPA's website says that particulate matter has deleterious effects. Small particles can penetrate deep into the lungs and bloodstream and have been linked to serious health issues like premature death in people with heart or lung disease, nonfatal heart attacks, irregular heartbeat, aggravated asthma, decreased lung function, and increased respiratory symptoms, with heart or lung disease patients, children, and older adults being most at risk.
Here's a transcript of Ingraham's conversation with Milloy:
Steven Milloy
The air is ugly, it's unpleasant to breathe. And for a lot of people, they get anxiety over it. But the reality is there's no health risk. Okay, there's EPA research, they've done lots of clinical research on asthmatics, on elderly asthmatics, on children, on elderly with heart disease, not a cough or wheeze from any of them. We have this kind of air in India and China all the time. No public health emergency.
Laura Ingraham
Speaking of — do you notice like in all the coverage of you know, [CNN chief climate correspondent] Bill Weir, the tailpipes, all this? They never, ever mentioned the fact that China is the number one polluter in the world never.
Steven Milloy
Yeah, this is like clean air in China. I mean, it's really bad. You know, they in the winter, they never turn on their scrubbers for the air pollution because they don't care. Weir has no idea what he's talking about. This doesn't kill anybody. This doesn't make anybody cough. This is not a health event. This has got nothing to do with climate. First off, these are this is wildfire smoke, this is natural. This is not because of climate change, fossil fuel, you know, internal combustion engines. He just has no idea what he's talking about.
Laura Ingraham
All day, by the way, it seemed like the media figures that we've become accustomed to seeing on television during these crises, they seem like they were back in their element, in kind of almost enjoying the moment of wearing masks again. Didn't they seem to have a little pep in their step with those masks? Now, they talked about the dangers of something called "particulate matter" from the smoke. Here's CNN earlier,
CNN reporter
Consider wearing a mask and that is because of the particulate matter in the air. This is among the tiniest, most dangerous kind of pollutants and it's the kind of thing found in this wildfire smoke. These particles are so small, they can get into the lungs when you breathe them in, get into the bloodstream, and cause all kinds of health issues.
Laura Ingraham
Steve, we're back at the masks. Ramin Oskoui is watching from heaven by the way, from Maine, I know you are. Go ahead.
Steven Milloy
Yeah, this is crazy. This is all particulate matter, but particulate matter was not a concern until EPA invented it as one in the 1990s and they've been writing into the Obama administration, now the Biden administration.
Laura Ingraham
What is it? Are there health concerns?
Steven Milloy
No. particulate matter is very fine soot.
Laura Ingraham
Well, you don't want to be breathing that in.
Steven Milloy
They're just carbon particles. They're innocuous, okay? They're innocuous. There's nothing in them. They have no effect. EPA has all this testing on real life human beings it shows no effect. This is total junk science.
