Final US presidential clash fails on climate change once more
New Scientist - 10/21/2016
This is getting repetitive. The third and final US presidential debate ended without moderator Chris Wallace asking a single question about climate change, and only a fleeting reference to the issue by one of the candidates. Just like the first and second debates.
This time, while discussing the economy, Hillary Clinton called for “new jobs in clean energy. Not only to fight climate change, which is a serious problem, but to create new opportunities and new businesses.”
That was it. A handful of seconds devoted to the biggest challenge facing the planet and the US’s most far-reaching national security threat. In all, across 360 minutes of presidential and vice-presidential debate, climate change received just five-and-half minutes of discussion, all in passing.
To be sure, Donald Trump’s outrageousness has sucked the air out of most substantive discussion of policy issues. On Wednesday night, he cast doubt on the legitimacy of American democracy by refusing to say that he would accept the outcome of the election if he were to lose.