The map above is terrifying if you understand the dynamics of climate change, but for the economic press, it’s only about the price of natural gas. (below) All things are connected – the break in gas prices gives Europe, (and the US if we’re smart enough to take advantage) a breather to catch up with carbon free generation and complete the flight from Russian gas – so that’s good, right? But the ominous signs that we are heading into an El Nino warm year are causing many people to ask if we are on a faster warming trajectory than previously supposed. My newest Yale Climate Connections video will address how Europe in particular, is becoming a global warming hot spot.
Weird to watch the complete lack of climate context in the report below.
The circus in the Capitol today demonstrated again, clearly, how toxic the Republican Party has become to rational discourse and rule of law. As Senator Lindsay Graham presciently remarked in 2016, “If we nominate Donald Trump, we’ll be destroyed, and we’ll deserve it.” I’ve long maintained that the road to madness for Republicans began with the slide into science denial that has been instigated and encouraged through the party’s symbiotic dependence on the fossil fuel industry, and that industry’s need to create an artificial media reality where significant populations could be split off from the mainstream. We see the results on days like today.
Above, Stuart Stevens, founder of the Lincoln Project, a group of former GOP operatives working to de-toxify and de-trumpify the conservative movement.
Talking to conservatives since the recent election, I’ve pointed out that one clear message was that young people are not buying what the Republicans are selling. That’s a bad sign for a political party. My solution is that they start the road to recovery by cleaning up their act on clean energy, get out in front of supporting climate solutions across the Heartland where their base lives. My experience is that when rural conservatives start seeing themselves as part of the solution, suddenly the whole climate conversation becomes a lot less toxic and more available. (see John Cook’s anecdote on that below) I’m hearing some enthusiasm for this idea, stay tuned.
According to the exit polling, 18-to 29-year-olds accounted for 12% of voters in the midterms — the lowest share of the electorate compared to other age groups — but they skewed firmly for Democratic candidates, a trend that has only grown more pronounced in recent years. Nationally, this age category voted in the 2022 election for Democratic House candidates by 28 points over Republican challengers. That’s about the same as in 2020 but considerably better than in stronger Republican years like 2014.
Thirty-to-44-year olds were the only other age group who favored Democrats in the House this election, by four points over the Republicans, according to exit polling. This is a decrease, however, from the 2018 House races when this age group favored Democrats by 19 points and in 2016 by seven points.
Forty-five-to-64 year olds preferred Republicans in the House by 10 points and those 65 and up — who made up 28% of the electorate — voted for GOP candidates 12 points over Democrats.
Pointing to these numbers, Harvard Public Opinion Project student chair Alan Zhang told ABC News: “Young voters cancel out every single vote of those over 65. Under 30 and under 40 were the only age group to go to the Democrats and they went overwhelmingly to the Democrats. Without the youth vote, there was no firewall that stopped the red wave from taking over.”
Republicans delivered the worst midterm performance for a party out of power in over 20 years. Young voters, who turned out in force, were centrally responsible for this failure. If the GOP is to turn the tide, it must better appeal to young people, including and especially on the topic of climate change .
This election, exit polls confirmed an almost 2-1 advantage for Democrats among young voters and record high turnout for the second midterm elections in a row. Without a course correction, this highly engaged voting bloc will continue to tip elections in favor of Democrats. The GOP risks losing a generation of voters. We must thus compete for hearts and minds by offering clear answers to the issues that young people prioritize most.
On this front, the data are clear.
Poll after poll confirms that young voters place climate change among their foremost concerns. If Democrats are perceived as caring about the issue, while Republicans are not, then young voters will continue to flock to the Democratic Party in overwhelming numbers. While the GOP has taken some recent steps in the right direction, most of these efforts are still on the periphery. Republicans have a major opportunity to play offense on climate by offering better solutions than Democrats. While the Left is busy pushing their government-expanding Green New Deal, we conservatives should more firmly advance the idea that the best way to address the climate challenge is through private enterprise.
In fact, only market-based solutions, by harnessing the entrepreneurial powers of capitalism, can accelerate clean energy innovation and deploy new technologies at the scale and speed necessary. Standing tall on this approach would allow Republicans to make inroads with young voters and earn their votes. Leading on this issue is also pure political upside. In Congress, not a single member who joined the new GOP House caucus on climate got primaried out for doing so. All of them won their general election.
Temperatures for January have reached an all-time high in a number of nations across Europe.
National records have fallen in eight countries – and regional records in another three.
Warsaw, Poland, saw 18.9C (66F) on Sunday while Bilbao, Spain, was 25.1C – more than 10C above average.
The mild European weather comes as North America faces more severe storms, days after a deadly winter cold snap left more than 60 dead.
Heavy snow and freezing rain have been forecast for parts of the northern Midwest while severe thunderstorms and tornadoes are expected in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas and Louisiana.
But on the European side of the Atlantic, the weather has been balmy for many places at the start of the year.
Temperatures in the Netherlands, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Latvia, Czech Republic, Poland, Denmark and Belarus broke national records.
Station records were broken in Germany, France and Ukraine.
A couple in Buffalo, New York, set out to rescue birds that became trapped in ice after a deadly blizzard swept through the area, video posted on Wednesday, December 28 shows.
Michael Thomas is a writer who has been honing in on the challenges for building out the energy transition. He tweets at @curious_founder. On January 1, he tweeted out a series of predictions for the energy and environment in 2023.
Exponential growth of solar will continue
2. Spectacular Growth of Wind Generation will Continue
Disquieting evidence of a significant break from reality among a subset of Americans in this interview with the Youtubers “The Good Liars”.
I’ve maintained for a while that when the richest, most powerful and pervasive industry the world has ever seen, the fossil fuel industry, resolved to destroy American’s trust in fact and authoritative evidence, they opened a Pandora’s box of native craziness that we will be contending with for decades.
UPDATE:
“America first” MAGA patriot rather have anti-American, war criminal Vladimir Putin as president over President Biden. pic.twitter.com/FCpQa9LGTA
— Republicans against Trump (@RpsAgainstTrump) January 1, 2023
