Olympians warning 'climate change' threatens Winter Games

Marc Morano on why Sochi was an unusual choice

This is a rush transcript from "Your World," February 13, 2014. This copy may not be in its final form and may be updated.

NEIL CAVUTO, HOST: Sorry, but Olympians warning about global warming in Sochi, seriously? Never mind they could have these Olympics almost anywhere here, and the slopes wouldn`t be melting like they are there. Maybe these Olympian complaining about conditions at this year`s Games should talk to the planners who selected a resort city with palm trees as the site of this year`s Winter Games.

To Marc Morano on why these athletes have it all wrong.

Now they`re -- they`re whining about this, you know? What do you make of it?

MARC MORANO, FORMER U.S. SENATORIAL DIRECTOR OF COMMUNICATIONS: Well, again, they`re whining because they`re in a city. They`re waking up and seeing palm trees outside.

It`s the southernmost city in Russia. And had they held these Olympics in Michigan, upper Michigan was the coldest place on the entire planet in January. They should have held them in Michigan if they were looking for snow. They should have held them in Iran, which had seven feet of snow, the most in 50 years, where 50 houses were crushed.

They should have held them in Italy, where they`re having record snow. They should have held anywhere in the United States, where we have broken over 4,000 snow records this past month. So the idea that they picked the most southern city with palm trees and then use it as a springboard to call for a U.N. global warming treaty, Neil, something is just not adding up.

First of all, a U.N. global warming treaty...

(CROSSTALK)

CAVUTO: Now, I didn`t even know about -- no, but I didn`t know about the palm trees, because I would have said, if I`m in the International Olympic Committee and I`m looking at sites, and I`m looking, all right, maybe for the Summer Olympics, and I`m thinking, but wait a minute, you have palm trees. I don`t know if that`s a good idea for the Winter Olympics.

MORANO: Yes, I mean, it`s something that they did probably for economic and political reasons in Russia. They`re trying to keep that resort revitalized.

CAVUTO: Sure.

MORANO: They pumped in all this money into Sochi.

But to use that one spot on the globe, which is the southernmost point, and is probably the warmest spot in all of Russia typically, and if you look at the data of the Northern Hemisphere in February, it`s not showing a trend since the 1960s. It goes up and down in different cycles. They have no case to make.

The most...

CAVUTO: Well, they do say -- but, Marc, here`s their argument. They say this has been unusually warm in Sochi, and now they are saying...

MORANO: Sure.

CAVUTO: ... it`s a sign that maybe that this is indicative of what`s happened across the globe.

Now, you mentioned what`s going on here, what has been happening a lot of times in Western Europe, but that their collective argument is the global warming thing hasn`t changed.

MORANO: Sure.

CAVUTO: Sochi is much more representative of it than anything else.

What do you say?

MORANO: Well, they are having it all ways.

First of all, the trend, if you look at this February snow data, when they have the -- hold the Winter Olympics since 1967, isn`t there. It`s an up- and-down cycle.

CAVUTO: Right.

MORANO: Second of all, if you look at what the other network, another network is just reporting that our record cold and snow is due to the extra heat in the atmosphere that`s destabilized the arctic air...

CAVUTO: You`re kidding.

MORANO: ... and the whole polar vortex. They`re trying to have it all ways here.

The most disturbing thing, and also the best news is that there are almost 2,800 Olympians who did not sign on to this letter urging a U.N. climate treaty.

CAVUTO: Good point.

MORANO: But 105 Olympians actually believe that the United Nations treaty is going...

CAVUTO: All right.

MORANO: ... to impact Winter Olympics.

CAVUTO: All right, Marc.

MORANO: That`s a frightening thought.

CAVUTO: It is weird.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: So, Siberia maybe next time, Sochi, not so much.

MORANO: That`s right.

CAVUTO: All right. Thank you.

MORANO: Exactly.

(LAUGHTER)

CAVUTO: All right.