1. shiftingbaselines
  2. Politics Tuesday: It's True--The Candidates Really Don't Talk About Climate

Politics Tuesday: It's True--The Candidates Really Don't Talk About Climate

By jjacquet on December 11, 2007.

Posted by Jack Sterne, jack@oceanchampions.org

All right, here's more grist for the mill on the issue of whether climate is a campaign issue, and the answer is pretty clearly "No."

This story on Grist analyzed the stump speeches of the major candidates and how much time they devoted to the issue of climate change in those speeches.

The result? "Climate change remains a minor issue for the major Democratic Party contenders for president, who devoted, on average, just 15 seconds -- or 2.6 percent of their speeches -- to the problem."

Very depressing, considering that the "officially unelected president" Al Gore received his Nobel Peace Prize this week, and the public is ready to have the conversation.

Maybe it will get more attention once the nominees are set, and distinctions can be drawn more sharply, but I have to say I'm not hopeful at this point.

And it makes the idea of having a debate on science and technology, as Jennifer has suggested, I think a longshot a best. But hey, longshots do win some time, and we need to keep pounding if we're going to get the candidates to start talking.

Tags
Ocean Politics

More like this

Politics Tuesday: Fishgate - Gored by a Tiny Tooth
Posted by Jack Sterne, jack@oceanchampions.org So what are the lessons about fish politics (and politics generally) from last week's silly flap about the Patagonian toothfish that Al Gore ate at the rehearsal dinner at his daughter's wedding? People expect a level of perfection out of politicians…
Gore at the Democratic Convention: Does He Send Mixed Messages about Climate Change and Partisanship?
One image of Gore: A partisan activist and leader. CNN reports this afternoon that Al Gore will have a major speaking slot at the Democratic convention, joining Obama on stage the last night of the convention in front of a stadium crowd of 70,000. I am a big fan of Al Gore and often think about…
Politics Tuesday: Congress Said It, So It Must Be True: Global Warming Exists
Posted by Jack Sterne, jack@oceanchampions.org This week, I'm going to start with another tidbit from last week's theme of how far we've come in a year, and then pivot to global warming as an "ocean issue," and posit the question of whether it is the ocean issue that eclipses all others. Here's…
Politics Tuesday: A new year, a new wave? Post-partisanship
Posted by Jack Sterne, jack@oceanchampions.org With the rise of Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee, lots has been written about the emergence of "post-partisan" politics (see Washington Post article, or Bill Bradley's blog, to name a few). To me, the appeal of both candidates is that they are great…