Climate Change Not Discussed During Second Presidential Debate
Despite both President Barack Obama and Governor Mitt Romney spending a great deal of the October 16 debate discussing energy policy, neither candidate mentioned climate change. After the debate, the moderator, CNN’s chief political correspondent Candy Crowley, said that she had a question prepared about climate change but ran out of time before she could ask it. Adam Fetcher, a spokesman for the Obama campaign, defended the President’s decision not to discuss climate change, saying, “Whether it’s on the stump or at the White House, President Obama has long focused on ways to develop clean energy as a core economic pillar. By advocating for the growth of renewable energy, as he did in Tuesday’s debate, President Obama has continually called for action that will address the sources of climate change.”
Recent polls – including a Pew Research Center study released October 15, a University of Texas study released October 16 and a George Mason and Yale University study released October 18 – show that an increasing majority of Americans accept climate change (see October 1 and October 8 issues). The Pew study found that 67 percent of Americans say that there is solid evidence that the Earth’s average temperature is warming, a 10 percentage point increase from a similar study performed in 2009. The University of Texas study found that 73 percent of respondents accept climate change, an eight point increase from March 2012. The George Mason and Yale University study found that 70 percent of Americans accept global warming, an increase of 13 percentage points from January 2010.
For additional information see: The Hill – 1, The Hill – 2, Pew Study, University of Texas Study, George Mason & Yale University Study