Ten of the top Democratic candidates for president presented their plans to tackle climate change during a marathon, seven-hour town hall broadcast live on CNN Wednesday. The forum represented perhaps the most in-depth public climate debate in U.S. political history, and came as the DNC has steadfastly refused to hold a dedicated official debate on the issue, despite the wishes of many of the candidates.
From Joe Biden to Amy Klobuchar, the candidates delivered a version of the same goal: for the country to reach net zero carbon emissions within the next three decades.
They differed on how to achieve that goal ー and how to pay for it.
Sen. Bernie Sanders called climate change our "common enemy" and suggested the country divert money it appropriates for defense toward clean energy development.
Joe Biden, the frontrunner, was asked why voters should trust him on the issue when he is scheduled to attend a fundraiser hosted by a fossil-fuel executive this week. (He said he "didn't realize" the fundraiser had ties to the industry.)
Sen. Elizabeth Warren urged viewers to ignore talking points from the right about consumer choice as it relates to the environment and focus on the companies that most contribute to greenhouse gas emissions. (According to scientists, the largest 90 carbon producers contributed 57 percent of the rise in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere since 1880.)
“They want to stir up a lot of controversy around your light bulbs, around your straws, and around your cheeseburgers, when 70 percent of the carbon that we’re throwing into the air comes from three industries," Warren said, appearing to refer to the oil, electric power, and building industries.
The same day as the town hall, the Trump administration reversed George W. Bush-era standards for energy-efficient lightbulbs. When moderator Chris Cuomo asked Warren whether the government should be in the business of telling people which kind of lightbulb to buy, Warren responded: "Give me a break."
“This is exactly what the fossil fuel industry wants us to be talking about. That’s what they want us to talk about: This is your problem.”
Sen. Cory Booker told people: "Whatever you want to eat, go ahead and eat it" and called attention to the issue of food deserts in low-income communities, where affordable, healthy food is often hard to come by.
While President Trump touted his administration's environmental policies in the hours before the town hall, a majority of Americans disapprove of his handling of climate change. In a July Washington Post-ABC poll, just 29 percent of respondents approved of Trump's climate policies, such as leaving the Paris agreement.
Mandy Gunasekara, a former EPA official in the Trump administration who now runs an energy lobbying firm and calls herself the "chief architect" of the decision to leave the Paris accord, told Cheddar in an interview that those dismal poll numbers are merely based on a lack of understanding on the part of voters about what Trump has done to "balance economic interest with environmental protection."
"[The Democrats'] solution to everything is bigger government, spending trillions of dollars of taxpayer money for minimal impact or benefit," she said.
Those views are increasingly out of the mainstream when it comes to climate change. One in five Americans now considers global warming to be an "extremely important" issue, according to a Stanford poll. That is compared to fewer than one in 10 who said the same in 1997. Among young voters, it's even more pronounced: nearly 80 percent of 18 to 34 year-olds say they worry "a great deal or fair amount" about the climate, according to Gallup.
Politically, that provides an opportunity for Democrats to appeal to first-time and other Millennial and Gen Z voters by casting the issue in stark relief to President Trump, who has called climate change a "hoax."
As Jonathan Ellis, senior political reporter for the New York Times, pointed out to Cheddar, many of the audience members during the debate who asked questions were affiliated with the youth-sponsored Sunrise Movement, and their questions were among the most thought out and nuanced.
"I do think this was a huge moment last night for the climate change conversation in America," said Ellis
Andrew Cuomo is reportedly planning his comeback. According to the Wall Street Journal, the former New York governor and his aides are considering how to make his first public appearance since he abruptly resigned last August amid sexual harassment allegations. Jake Lahut, politics reporter for Insider, joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss Cuomo's potential return to politics.
The pressure is on for UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson - after his closest aides handed in their resignations this week.
It comes after a report found that 16 parties had taken place at Downing Street while Covid lockdown protocols were in place in the region. Ari Aramesh, Attorney & National Security/Foreign Policy Analyst joined Cheddar's Opening Bell to discuss.
President Biden has ordered about 3,000 U.S. troops to Eastern Europe as Russia refuses to back off its pressure on Ukraine. The deployments to Poland, Germany, and Romania are a show of support to NATO allies concerned about a potential Russian invasion of Ukraine. This is in addition to the 8,500 troops put on high alert. David Tafuri, former Obama campaign foreign policy advisor and former State Department official, joined Cheddar to discuss what this move means for U.S.-Russia relations.
After tennis player Peng Shuai made an explicit sexual assault allegation toward a former Chinese government official, she disappeared from the public eye. Her recent reappearance with the IOC alongside a Chinese Olympic committee official raised eyebrows and renewed concerns for her safety. Asian affairs expert Gordon Chang, author of "The Coming Collapse of China," joined Wake Up With Cheddar to discuss Peng Shuai's retraction and the various human rights controversies swirling at the Beijing games. "It's clear that the IOC was working with Beijing to make sure that she did not express herself freely," Chang said. "So really this is the IOC being complicit in these mechanisms of control over Peng."
The opening ceremony of the 2022 winter Olympics has kicked off at the Beijing national stadium. 150,000 spectators are in attendance for the games inside the 'closed loop' system separating Olympic personnel from the public. Cheddar News spoke with Brian Cazenueve, Sports Illustrated contributor, to share the highlights you may have missed and much more.
The Biden Administration is set to revise federal rules to address potential security risks from foreign-owned apps, mainly Tiktok. This comes after the White House opted not to pursue a forced shutdown of the Chinese-owned video sharing platform. Under these new rules, federal oversight would be expanded to explicitly include apps that could be used by foreign adversaries to steal or otherwise obtain data. Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, Craig Singleton, joined Cheddar to discuss more.
Although this week's weather is predicted to be less severe than the 2021 storm, Texans are preparing for the worst - stocking up on supplies and emptying shelves in grocery stores, once again. Some Texans still have not recovered from last year's tragedy, and are heading into the next few weeks with anxiety for what's to come. Leslie Beyer, CEO of the Houston-based energy workforce & technology council, joins Cheddar News to discuss if the Texas grid will fail again.
Student loan debt continues to be a major concern for tens of millions of Americans who collectively owe about $1.7 trillion. Black college students often take on larger amounts of student debt in order to pay for a higher education. In turn, they are more likely to struggle post-graduation with repaying their debt, creating a racial wealth gap divide. Andre Perry, senior fellow at Brookings Institution joined All Hands to help break down the black student debt crisis.
After two NYPD officers were killed with an illegal gun, President Biden made a trip to New York City to speak on the issue of gun violence fed by the "iron pipeline" of illegal firearms that make their way from the South to the Big Apple. Kris Brown, the president of the gun violence prevention organization Brady United, joined Cheddar to discuss what this visit from the president could mean for the future of gun laws in America. "He's asked Congress to pass things like expanding the Brady background check system, but with the filibuster a barrier to so much action right now in the Congress, he's looking at solutions that involve funding at the federal level and really involve enforcement."
