Climate R&D Gets Short Shrift at the Democratic Debate

Mayor Pete didn't say much about climate R&D, but at least he mentioned it.PBS

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Everyone is now talking about climate change. Everyone is in favor of emergency action. Everyone (?) is in favor of a carbon tax.

I guess this is good to hear, but it sounds an awful lot like what I’ve been hearing forever. We have to tell people that this is a big emergency! Yes we do, but so far that hasn’t really made much of a dent. We need to hold Congress accountable! Sure, but public opinion is the core thing here. Congress won’t do anything unless voters demand it, and there’s not much evidence that the public is excited about anything that would call for them to make even a small sacrifice. It’s an existential crisis! But . . . maybe not so existential that we should support expansion of nuclear power.

Naturally, I was listening for someone to mention R&D. No such luck. Aside from Andrew Yang, I think Pete Buttigieg tossed in a brief mention within a laundry list, and that was it. Sigh.

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