Pirate's Cove

Over at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, a few Warmists are Very Concerned that ‘climate change’ has been such a miniscule issue this campaign season, and they wonder why that is

Why the Climate Change Debate Has Cooled Off in the U.S. Election Season

As the Republican National Convention got underway on Monday in Cleveland, Ohio, the issue of climate change was conspicuous by its near total absence from the agenda.

The U.N. summit on climate change in Paris last December raised global awareness about the impact of climate change, both in the run-up to the conference and soon thereafter. But little has been achieved in the seven months since then by way of follow-up action in the U.S. and elsewhere, according to the experts. Distractions have been plenty in the U.S. and Western Europe since then, including Brexit, the influx of migrants, terrorist attacks, issues relating to the economy and the U.S. presidential elections.

However, the presidential election season is an opportune time to address climate-change issues, according to Howard Kunreuther, Wharton professor of operations, information and decisions, and co-director of the school’sRisk Management and Decision Processes Center. “The principal point is we need to have a dialog with the two [presidential] candidates about how they feel about climate change,” he said. It is also important for the candidates to acknowledge “that there is a lot that we know about it that should be put on the table,” he added.

When it comes down to it, the GOP mostly doesn’t care, and neither Trump nor Hillary really care about. Oh, sure, Hillary mentions it at her website, but, quick, think about when she really talks about it. Is this something she mentions much? How about in the past? She may be a Believer in anthropogenic climate change, but, it is not an issue that moves her. Heck, for all we know she may be a skeptic, simply throwing out the duckspeak of her unhinged base.

Why Is Everybody Quiet?

Michel-Kerjan said he had expected the subject of climate change to continue to be actively discussed in global forums after the Paris accord, given the positive mood at that time and the general feeling that “everybody moved in the right direction.” However, in the run-up to the U.S. presidential elections, issues of unemployment and terrorism have dominated debates, and those of environmental solutions have been sidelined, he noted.

In other words, most citizens really do not care that much, or care at all, especially in light of real issues. This is born out by poll after poll after poll.

Kunreuther said he wasn’t surprised that the discussions on climate change have not kept up the energy levels seen around the time of the Paris accords. He noted that the issue has been “very controversial in Congress and there hasn’t been an effort made to have a very informed discussion.”

Well, are they supposed to have a discussion on an agreement that was specifically create to avoid the need to submit it to Congress for ratification? It’s never been sent to Congress by Obama.

On the other hand, Kunreuther said “the general public is concerned about climate change,” citing studies conducted by Anthony Leiserowitz, director of the Yale Project on Climate Change at Yale University’s School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. He said he was surprised that even as public concern about climate change runs high, it hasn’t become one of the issues in the election season.

At the end of the day, though, people really do not care. Especially when you note that implementation of ‘climate change’ measures will reduce their standard of living and increase their cost of living, all for barely any change in global temperatures. And when they see the biggest believers refusing to walk the talk, why should they care?