President Donald Trump’s approval rating has once again reached 40%, while earning high marks for his handling of the government’s response to recent hurricanes, according to a new CNN poll conducted by SSRS. A broad 64% of Americans say they approve of how Trump’s government reacted to the recent storms, […] Read more »
Why the wiring of our brains makes it hard to stop climate change
… Humans aren’t well wired to act on complex statistical risks. We care a lot more about the tangible present than the distant future. Many of us do that to the extreme — what behavioral scientists call hyperbolic discounting — which makes it particularly hard to grapple with something like […] Read more »
Why Republicans are frozen on climate change
The swirling winds, pounding rains and enveloping floods of hurricanes Irma in Florida and Harvey in Texas have left deep scars across two of the nation’s largest states. But it’s still unlikely that these irresistible forces will dislodge one of Washington’s most immovable objects: the steadfast resistance of President Donald […] Read more »
Hurricane Harvey likely to provoke polarizing fights
Local communities almost always pull together on the ground after natural disasters like the torrential flooding that has submerged Houston. … Yet, once the immediate danger has passed, the response to the storm will raise larger political questions on at least two major fronts: the cost of recovery and the […] Read more »
Could Hurricane Harvey Deal a Fatal Blow to Climate Change Skepticism?
… Trump has made no secret of his skepticism of man-made climate change, perhaps most famously with his assertion in 2012 that climate change was a hoax perpetrated by China. … But while the full-on embrace of climate skepticism may make political sense for the White House—only 25 percent of […] Read more »
Globally, People Point to ISIS and Climate Change as Leading Security Threats
People around the globe identify ISIS and climate change as the leading threats to national security, according to a new Pew Research Center survey. The survey asked about eight possible threats. While the level and focus of concern varies by region and country, ISIS and climate change clearly emerge as […] Read more »