Geoscience Reference
In-Depth Information
On the other hand, suppose Hurricane Sandy has destroyed valuable
parts of the northeast coast, and some scientists are discussing the link-
age between hurricanes and global warming. Perhaps it is a record year
for hurricanes. The next survey on attitudes about global warming takes
place in this context, and people call up the memory of howling winds
when they are asked whether they worry about global warming. Upon
recalling the storms, their concerns about global warming increase.
Something is missing from the history, however. Why did public
opinion become more skeptical about global warming in the past de-
cade? What was the source of the sharp political divide? The most com-
pelling explanation is the dynamics of modern American politics. Over
the last three decades, the two major political parties have developed
increasingly distinct ideologies in many areas—on tax policy, abortion,
regulatory policy, and environmental policy.
As global warming took on greater importance, it attracted political
entrepreneurs. The most important one in the United States was Albert
Gore Jr., who was a Democratic senator, vice president, and candidate
for president. He believed global warming was a defi ning issue of our
time and talked about the dangers of the current trajectory. He proposed
measures to reduce emissions by a tax on energy, a cap-and-trade sys-
tem, and a carbon tax. He personally negotiated the Kyoto Protocol. So
climate change as a scientifi c issue was joined by global warming on
the political agenda.
Others in the U.S. Democratic Party moved solidly behind both the
science of climate change and forceful policies to reduce CO
2
emissions.
President Bill Clinton warned of global warming and approved the
Kyoto Protocol in 1997, but he sent no legislation to Congress to imple-
ment the provisions or ratify the treaty. However, in 2009 President
Barack Obama endorsed a strong cap-and-trade bill with the support of
most congressional members of his party.
About the same time, conservatives turned in the opposite direc-
tion. Part of the reason for the anti-global warming policy focus of U.S.
conservatism was an increasingly free-market philosophy, one skeptical
of governmental regulations in all areas. The anti-global warming view
was also buttressed by campaign support from major business groups
