President Donald Trump has voiced his views on climate change since the beginning of his 2016 presidential campaign. Drawing out of the Paris Agreement in 2017, it is clear that climate change is not high on the president’s radar. According to the BBC article, “Trump on Climate Change Report: ‘I Don’t Believe It,’” President Trump took his comment back about how he believes that climate change is a hoax, but he is still doubtful that it is a man-made issue.
President Trump’s recent tweet about the harsh winter weather the Midwest has endured over the past few weeks shows that while he may have been joking, he may not know the difference between weather and climate: “In the beautiful Midwest, windchill temperatures are reaching minus 60 degrees, the coldest ever recorded. In coming days, expected to get even colder. People can’t last outside even for minutes. What the hell is going on with Global Waming? Please come back fast, we need you!”
The Time article, “Trump Said 'We Need' Global Warming to Deal with Record Cold Temperatures. Here's Why That Doesn't Make Sense,” explains the difference between weather and climate: “Weather refers to the atmospheric conditions at a particular place and time. At this very moment, the weather in the Midwest is freezing cold, with major snowstorms. Climate refers to the long-term atmospheric patterns in a particular area. It may hit -20°F in the Midwest this week, but over the long term, the average temperature is expected to rise, as is the frequency of days with extreme high temperatures.”
It is no secret that the Republican Party receives funding for political campaigns from fossil-fuel companies. Is this a reason many Republicans are not on board with climate change? Maybe so, but according to The Guardian article, “Oil and Gas Industry Has Pumped Millions into Republican Campaigns,” Republicans are not the only ones who have received funds from fossil-fuel companies: during the 2016 presidential election, fossil-fuel donors pumped about seven percent of funds into Hillary Clinton’s Super Pac.
The two-party political system in the U.S. has always been divided over certain political issues, whether it be gun control or abortion. Climate change has been in the divide, too. According to the NBC News article published in November of 2018, “Polling: Consensus Emerges in Climate Change Debate,” however, more Americans believe that climate change is happening more than ever before. 70 percent of Americans believe climate change is happening, and out of that 70 percent, 57 percent believe it is a man-made problem.
However, out of the 70 percent of Americans who believe climate change is happening naturally, there is still a political divide shown in the statistics. 71 percent of Democrats believe climate change is happening, a 42-point increase since 1999. Republicans remain stagnant at only 15 percent.
We all know that the nation is divided over certain issues, but when it comes to a situation that can harm the entire earth, I believe that there should be no divide.