Nearly half of the US Democratic presidential candidates cited climate change as one of the greatest threats to the nation during the debate last night, but the topic otherwise barely came up during the two-hour event.
Any presidential contender should have to answer many hard and detailed questions about how to accelerate the shift to clean energy and address the hazards we’ve already unleashed, all within a gridlocked political system.
So here are seven questions we’d put to the candidates:
Several energy and environment experts proposed a few additional questions when I sought suggestions on Twitter.
Joshua Rhodes of Vibrant Clean Energy:
What are the top three climate change focused actions you’d take immediately upon taking office?
— Joshua Rhodes (@joshdr83) June 27, 2019
Jeremiah Johnson, associate professor at NC State University:
What climate policies could you achieve under a divided Congress?
— Jeremiah Johnson (@JXJohnson) June 27, 2019
Josh Busby, associate professor of public affairs at the University of Texas, Austin:
Can you explain this problem and the solutions you propose in a way that your average person can relate to? What makes it so important?
— Josh Busby (@busbyj2) June 27, 2019
Michael Powers, founding partner of Stellar Solar:
"Are you prepared to help rebuild our national power transmission system to protect against cyber attack, insure the free trade of electricity needed to fight climate change with clean energy and deliver another huge boost to our 21st Century economy?"
— Michael Powers (@TerraWatts2010) June 27, 2019
Other climate and energy writers and thinkers have posed their own list of questions that are worth reading, including Rolling Stone’s Jeff Goodell, The Atlantic’s Robinson Meyer, and Genevieve Guenther, director of EndClimateSilence.org.