Did ‘climate change’ suddenly become an obscene term in the USA when I wasn’t looking; on par with another term that begins with ‘c’?
 
Sure, climate change can be a polarizing topic – but so too are many topics discussed during Presidential debates.
 
I usually enjoy watching and listening to Barack Obama’s speeches. I often find him to be quite inspirational – an effect few politicians have on me.
 
It’s a big change to his predecessor, He Who Shall Not Be Named, but the aversion to the “c” word during these very important exchanges really unsettles me.
 
I was reading somewhere that this series of Presidential debates is the first time since 1984 climate change (often previously referred to as global warming or earlier, the greenhouse effect) has not been specifically mentioned at least once.
 
Even He Who Shall Not Be Named acknowledged “global warming needs to be taken very seriously” in a 2000 Presidential debate.
 
Given it’s one of the biggest threats facing humanity (which includes the USA), didn’t it deserve a bit of discussion to get the up-to-the-minute views of the candidates, a definitive summary to help people decide who would be elected to oversee a nation of over 330 million people?
 
Climate change will affect every aspect of life, including a burning issue for many US folks – that of security.
 
I live in Australia, but we still live (to a degree) by the old saying of “when America sneezes, the whole world catches cold”. That will probably change a lot in what is being termed the “Asian Century”, but for the time being, we still look towards the USA for many things – including leadership on issues that affect the entire world.
 
I realize Obama has spoken at length about climate change on the campaign trail, but here was a great opportunity to duke it out with Romney in front of millions of people – both at home and beyond.
 
Can you imagine the history books covering this era mentioning that during a pivotal point in our battle against climate change, the candidates avoided outright discussion of it totally in one of the world’s most important series of public discussions?
 
If their aversion to discussion was based on fear of people’s reactions – well, that’s a very poor reflection on the entire nation. I’d like to think that isn’t the case.
 
Both these guys should hang their heads in shame – along with all those who selected the questions to be asked.