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- The causes of climate change is one of many issues seen as dividing Democratic and Republican lawmakers. While members of the GOP remain skeptical that climate change is man-made, many Democrats continue to push for more environmental protections, including limits on fossil fuel emissions.
- A growing movement among young conservatives, including evangelical Christians, supports environmental regulations. They say it's important to act as faithful stewards of the earth. One group, the Young Evangelicals for Climate Action, has grown to 10,000 members in the past five years.
- Conservatives like George Shultz, a former cabinet secretary to Presidents Reagan and Nixon, supports a tax on energy companies for every ton of carbon that comes out of mining coal or refining oil. The plan would distribute proceeds back to tax payers as well as strip away much of the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) authority to regulate carbon emissions.
- Essential question : How might a person's political beliefs affect how he/she views climate change?
- Do you think the Eco-Right movement will continue to build steam? Explain your response.
- Why does support for environmental protections, including a carbon tax, seem to divide Republican and Democratic lawmakers?
- Do you think it is possible for Republicans and Democrats to come up with a compromise plan around environmental issues, including ways to reduce the human impact of climate change? What would such a compromise look like?
