Paul Krugman had a very good piece in the New York Times on climate change and Donald Trump, echoing some of the tribalistic concerns voiced by other writers (including my small self here on thie blog, occasionally).
I provide a link to the article here: The Water Next Time
And below are some excerpts. The emphases (underlining) are mine.
"Or to put it a different way, we face a clear and present danger, but we have the means and the knowledge to deal with that danger. The problem is politics — which brings us back to Mr. Trump and his party.and this:
It probably won’t surprise you to hear that when it comes to climate change, as with so many issues, Mr. Trump has gone deep down the rabbit hole, asserting not just that global warming is a hoax, but that it’s a hoax concocted by the Chinese to make America less competitive."
... "It’s interesting to ask why climate denial has become not just acceptable but essentially required within the G.O.P. Yes, the fossil-fuel sector is a big donor to the party. But the vehemence of the hostility to climate science seems disproportionate even so; bear in mind that, for example, at this point there are fewer than 60,000 coal miners, that is, less than 0.05 percent of the work force. What’s happening, I suspect, is that climate denial has become a sort of badge of right-wing identity, above and beyond the still-operative motive of rewarding donors."
Based on a recent article in The Hill ("Poll: Climate is most divisive issue in U.S."), the tribal allegiance of the hard right-wing to climate change skepticism makes what Krugman writes ring true.
No comments:
Post a Comment