David Gergen on Climate Politics and Public Opinion
Former presidential advisor David Gergen on the Green New Deal, InsideClimate News reporter Marianne Lavelle on the latest climate action proposals, and Republican political strategist Lori Weigel on how conservation and conservatism can go hand-in-hand.
Climate One · Climate One from The Commonwealth Club
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Show Notes
“This is turning out exactly the way scientists predicted, with one exception: it’s happening faster than they thought,” says political analyst David Gergen, who served in four presidential administrations. “The question is what can we do rapidly that would alleviate this and be fair to all.”
“There’s a lot of signs that voters, you know, they may not completely agree with the Green New Deal,” says Marianne Lavelle, a reporter with InsideClimate News, “but they’re not very happy with having politicians who are just not paying attention to climate and just not doing anything.”
Ultimately it is Republican voters who are pushing their legislators to act, since many of them, especially in western states, find their views on energy and conservation at odds with the current administration’s environmental policies.“The vast majority of western voters say we need to make sure that we protect [public lands] for all Americans,” notes Lori Weigel, a GOP pollster. “It shouldn't be something where economic value or resource extraction is taking priority over the uses that we’re most familiar with."
Guests:
David Gergen, Professor of Public Service and Founding Director, Center for Public Leadership, Harvard Kennedy School
Marianne Lavelle, Reporter, InsideClimate News
Lori Weigel, Partner, Public Opinion Strategies
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