The last presidential debate, which took place on September 22th, 2020, between former Vice President Joe Biden, who represents the democratic party, and the President of United States Donald Trump, representing the Republican party, raised many interesting points. The moderator Kristen Welker addressed many interesting questions towards both individuals, which got some very interesting responses.
A major topic of discussion was climate change, where President Trump had a standard approach while Joe Biden presented some futuristic solutions. President Trump said he loves the environment, but he is unwilling to sacrifice businesses for the environment. One can agree here that business needs a priority in such a huge and influential economy, but perhaps there is more than what meets the eye. Joe Biden talked about he would slowly move to a climate-friendly economy, which would inevitably create many more jobs and improve the economy. Also, Joe Biden said, “Global warming is an existential threat to humanity, we have a moral obligation to deal with it, and we’re told by all the leading scientists in the world we don’t have much time.” (Bernstein) Joe Biden wanted to show that he as a candidate, understands the problem at hand and considers it his responsibility to improve. Joe Biden plans on making/promoting businesses that lessen the damage caused due to climate change. The President accused Joe Biden that he would get rid of hydraulic fracturing, which is used to extract natural gas from shale. Fracturing has shown many benefits but also has its downsides. Many environmentalists are against fracturing. Overall, President Trump's accusation here did have some basis to it. Joe Biden said he would ban it only on federal land in his defense.
Yes, some of President Trump’s criticism of the democratic party had a premise, but Joe Biden perhaps gave concrete examples as to what the issue at hand is and how to deal with it. Do you guys think climate change is an important topic of discussion especially in the presidential debate? If yes, then which candidate presented a more apt front/view regarding climate change.
References:
Bernstein, Sharon. “Trump, Biden Clash over Climate, Oil Industry in Final Debate.” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 23 Oct. 2020, www.reuters.com/article/usa-election-debate- climate-change/trump-biden-clash-over-climate-oil-industry-in-final-debate- idUSKBN2780HW.
3 comments:
I believe that the subject of climate change will be a popular topic for years to come and his something that needs to be addressed during this election. Although I understand that president Trump does not want to "harm" businesses by taking action against climate change, he also needs to understand that there is more to life than keeping his friends businesses profitable. I am not an expert in environmental science by any means, however, I am convinced that we as humans have a responsibility to do our part in keeping our planet one that we can safely live on. On the other hand, I also understand that change will not happen overnight, and we will need to gradually install measures to protect our environment. I believe that Biden took a better approach to this topic by saying he would slowly move to a climate friendly economy. With that being said, I am not quite certain at how successful he will be in this endeavour if he were to be elected. Nonetheless, something that really bothers me about Biden and Trump speaking on this matter is their age. In all honesty, it is hard for me to believe, nor am I convinced, that these two men, both in their 70's, care about the current state of the environment as the damages from climate change will most likely have no impact on the rest of their life.
I do believe that climate change is a very important topic and must be discussed during a presidential debate. The voters have the right to know where the nominees stand on this global issue. In my opinion, Biden presented a much better view regarding this topic. Although, he did avoid answering the question about fracturing for a few weeks but he did end up answering the question this in this debate. Trump, on the other hand, has done nothing for the climate and has a backed out of several international agreements focused towards preserving the climate. If Biden goes through with his plan for renewable energy, it will be good for economy in the long, creating new jobs for the currently unemployed population.
Climate change is a crucial topic that should be addressed in the Presidential Debate, and the fact that it has come into recognition now is unfortunate. I side with Biden's idea on Climate change. Biden answered by saying that he would transition the oil industry because of the amount of pollution caused by it, and that is an excellent approach. He would not shut down the previous fracking of oil and gas on federal lands. He would just not lease any new ones. Creating the Green New Deal and bringing in more jobs will be good for the economy, especially because of the loss of jobs due to the pandemic.
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