Helene blows climate change into prime time
The deadly aftermath of Hurricane Helene created something rare and revealing: a prime-time spotlight on global warming in a White House debate.
Why it matters: A question just minutes into Tuesday night's JD Vance-Tim Walz faceoff brought the earliest climate science and policy exchange ever in a general election debate.
A few takeaways...
Vance tried something politically delicate. He accepted the scientific consensus on human-caused climate change only "for the sake of argument."
- He quickly pivoted to saying the solution is bringing more manufacturing and energy production to the U.S., where it's done cleanly.
- The Ohio senator called Kamala Harris a roadblock and said Biden-Harris energy policies boost China.
- It's a tightrope given Donald Trump's dismissal of global warming as a hoax. Like Trump, Vance put his message outside of an explicit climate context. "Donald Trump and I support clean air, clean water," he said.
Reality check: The scientific conclusion on climate change's cause, namely the emissions of greenhouse gases from burning fossil fuels, is not hypothetical.
- Nor is its role in worsening extreme weather events like Helene.
Everyone loves oil this season. Walz parried Vance's criticisms by noting U.S. oil and natural gas production are both at record levels.
- But the Minnesota governor was more effusive about Inflation Reduction Act policies that support domestic manufacturing and "clean" energy.
- "We are seeing us becoming an energy superpower for the future, not just the current. And that's what absolutely makes sense," Walz said.
- He also said Helene "roared onto the scene faster and stronger than anything we've seen" and soon after talked about his state's farmers getting hit by drought.
Vance wanted to talk prices, not emissions. His closing statement went there quickly, accusing Kamala Harris of making home heating costlier.
- And he used a mid-debate question about housing costs to say high diesel prices under Biden passed through to material costs.
- He also repeated the "drill, baby, drill" mantra. Republicans argue that White House restrictions are preventing even faster production growth.
- Our usual reminder: Many things affect production as companies respond to prices, material costs, Wall Street demand for returns, and more.
The bottom line: Climate change is a notoriously second-tier topic in elections, but it couldn't be ignored Tuesday night.
