Science & Technology

No Plan B: The Climate-Conscious Voter

WAMU 88.5

Published September 23, 2019 at 9:20 AM CDT

Suzannah Mullen holds a sign at a Greenpeace rally to call for a presidential campaign climate debate in front of the Democratic National Committee headquarters in Washington, DC. DNC chairman Tom Perez rejected a request from Democratic presidential candidate Washington Gov. Jay Inslee to host a 2020 presidential debate focused solely on climate change. (Photo by Sarah Silbiger/Getty Images)

Pew Research released a poll three weeks after the 2008 Iowa caucuses indicating that just one percent of Americans ranked climate change as the most pressing problem facing the country.

Today, that is not the case. With people seeing the effects of climate change on their daily lives, rising temperatures is on the minds of many voters. Wildfires, flooding and more severe hurricanes are affecting public safety, public health, property values and American businesses worldwide.

How will climate coverage influence the 2020 election? How do the candidates differ in their approach to the issue? We sit down with two experts to find answers.

Produced by Amanda Williams.

GUESTS

Anthony Leiserowitz, Director, Yale Program on Climate Change Communication; host, Climate Connections radio program; @ecotone2

Justin Worland, Energy and environment correspondent, Time magazine; @justinworland

For more, visit https://the1a.org.