The political frenzy that culminated on Sunday with Joe Biden dropping out of the US presidential race erupted immediately after his June 27 debate with Donald Trump. Barely 12 hours after the candidates left the stage, The New York Times editorial board declared that “To Serve His Country, President Biden Should Leave the Race.” The editors took this unprecedented step, they explained, because of the grave danger a second Trump presidency posed to democracy and their doubts that Biden could defeat Trump in November.
The relentless barrage of news coverage that followed was a remarkable display of the media’s ability to shape the public agenda. At a time when some observers question the relevance of traditional media, this landmark moment served as a reminder that the traditional media still exercise one of the greatest powers there is in politics: the power to decide what is, and isn’t, talked about.
And sometimes what isn’t talked about matters just as much as what is, as The Philadelphia Inquirer pointed out a day after the Times editorial. In effect accusing the Times of a double standard, the Inquirer published an article whose headline mirrored the Times’s word for word, except it substituted Trump’s name for Biden’s: “To Serve His Country, Donald Trump Should Leave the Race.” Trump’s debate performance was the “usual bombastic litany of lies, hyperbole, bigotry, ignorance, and fear mongering,” the Inquirer wrote, adding that he “demonstrated once again that he is a danger to democracy and unfit for office.”
Now that the press has rediscovered the power of the spotlight it wields, it needs to refocus that intensity — not only on Trump’s own fitness for office (given his tendency to garble thoughts and names, his continued backing of the January 6 insurrection, and his waffling about whether he will accept the outcome of the 2024 election) but also, critically, on the climate crisis before us.
The science is clear: The overriding climate imperative over the next four years is to rapidly phase out the burning of fossil fuels. Trump, a proud climate denier, is determined to do the exact opposite. He has pledged to be a dictator on “day one,” so he can “drill, baby, drill.” The Project 2025 platform developed by more than 30 advisers from Trump’s first administration outlines how to turn that planet-roasting vision into policy, and the Wall Street Journal reported yesterday that a “megawealthy coterie of oil tycoons” are “banking on” Trump to deliver.
That approach could not be more dangerous. Nor could the contrast be any clearer with Trump’s all-but-certain opponent, Vice President Kamala Harris, an outspoken champion of climate justice since her days as an attorney general and US senator from California. As a presidential candidate in 2019, Harris advocated a complete phase-out of fossil fuels by 2045 (although as a 2024 candidate she will have to explain why the Biden administration approved more new oil and gas licenses than Trump did).
Especially in an election year, the media’s awesome power to shape the public conversation carries with it equally awesome responsibilities. Whether Joe Biden is too old to win a second term was certainly a subject worth the attention. So too is whether Donald Trump can be trusted with climate policy at a time when the planet is already on fire.
From Us
Covering activism. Join Covering Climate Now for a webinar about how to cover climate activism with panelists Keerti Gopal, Activism Reporter for Inside Climate News, and journalist and activist Bill McKibben. Kyle Pope, co-founder and Executive Director of Strategic Initiatives of CCNow, will moderate. Tuesday, July 30, 12pm US Eastern Time. RSVP.
Connecting with Texas audiences. In a webinar co-sponsored by CCNow and The Texas Tribune, panelists will discuss how Texas journalists can reach local audiences by making the climate connection. Panelists are: Brandi Addison, Connect Reporter for the USA Today Network (Texas); Professor Jay L Banner of the Department Earth and Planetary Science, University of Texas; and Priya Zachariah, Chief Resilience Officer, Harris County Flood Control District. Emily Foxhall, The Texas Tribune’s climate reporter, will moderate. Thursday, August 8, 1pm US Eastern Time. RSVP.
Climate on the Ballot Summit. From September 17-19, join CCNow and top political and climate journalists for a virtual summit on integrating climate into your elections coverage. RSVP.
Noteworthy Stories
Harris v. Trump. The climate policy contrast between the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, Vice President Kamala Harris, and Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump is stark. Harris is committed to climate action, including her support for domestic and global climate initiatives, while Trump denies climate change and wants to roll back environmental regulations. By Samantha Harrington, Sara Peach, and Pearl Marvell at Yale Climate Connections…
Adaption project fails. An ambitious project between Israel and Jordan aimed at trading renewable energy and drinking water collapsed following Israel’s incursion into Gaza. Jordan has said Israel’s actions amount to genocide, and the Jordanian public protested the deal, which could have led to significant climate adaptation benefits. By Saqib Rahim at Grist…
Fossil fuel “hypocrisy.” Despite their climate commitments, in 2024, the world’s richest countries are leading a surge in fossil fuel exploration that could result in nearly 12 billion tons of carbon emissions, roughly equivalent to China’s annual emissions. “The hypocrisy of wealthy nations, historically responsible for the climate crisis, is staggering,” said Harjeet Singh of the Fossil Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty Initiative. By Oliver Milman and Nina Lakhani for the Guardian…
Congress’ climate deniers. A new Center for American Progress report finds 123 members of Congress deny human-caused climate change. “When powerful people deny climate change, it threatens to rob the Earth’s inhabitants of a chance to avoid climate catastrophe by enacting sensible national policies,” writes the editorial board at the Chicago Sun Times…
Cooling cities. Cities around the world are exploring how to use green spaces to help regulate heat and cool cities. “When nature is present … that cooling effect can be a critical step in improving the health and wellbeing of people,” an ecologist says in a report at the BBC…
Via Social
On X (formerly Twitter), CCNow rounds up new reporting on Vice President Kamala Harris’s climate record and what a Harris presidency could mean for US climate policy.
Democrats have largely coalesced around @VP Kamala Harris (@KamalaHQ) as the likely 2024 presidential nominee for their party. What would, or could, a Harris presidency mean for the climate? 🧵… https://t.co/25v3iYHjQX
— Covering Climate Now (@CoveringClimate) July 23, 2024
Industry News
WaPo’s climate chatbot. Nieman Lab spoke with The Washington Post’s chief technology officer, Vineet Khosla, about Climate Answers, the paper’s first generative AI chatbot. Khosla explains why the Post chose to launch a climate chatbot, concerns about spreading disinformation, and how they’re monitoring progress.
ICN expands. Inside Climate News has opened a new bureau in North Carolina, the “latest expansion of our effort to strengthen local environmental journalism across the country.”
Resources & Events
Heat and school sports. Climate Central’s new resource, “More Extremely Hot Days for School Sports,” looks at the extreme heat hazards that student athletes face as they restart sports practice.
Polling extreme weather. Most people in the US support stricter building standards in areas prone to extreme weather, according to a new Pew Research study.
Breaking news reporting. The National Press Club Journalism Institute is holding a webinar, “Structuring Your Story: Master Class on Organizing Narrative, Breaking News,” on August 16.
Jobs, Etc.
Jobs. Climate Tracker is looking for environmental journalists based in Chile and Colombia to serve as mentors. Fort Worth Report is hiring an environment reporter (Fort Worth, Texas). Internews is recruiting a part-time environmental media consultant (Tunisia or the U.K.).
Fellowships. Solutions Journalism Network’s Building Democracy Fellowship offers US newsrooms training and support to report on government and democracy. Apply by July 31.
Awards. The American Association for the Advancement of Science is accepting applications for the Kavli Science Journalism Awards. Apply by August 1. Photography 4 Humanity Global Prize is accepting submissions of images that promote climate justice. Apply by August 1. The Lincoln Institute of Land Policy is accepting submissions from Latin American journalists for the “Lincoln Prize for Journalism on Urban Policy, Sustainable Development, and Climate Change” competition. Apply by August 9.