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There will be as many as 12 Democratic presidential debates over the next year. But none of them will be devoted to climate change -- for now, anyway.
Presidential candidate Jay Inslee -- who is running as a climate change candidate with a deeply developed plan to transform the nation's energy system and rapidly slash carbon emissions -- had urged the Democratic National Committee (DNC) to host a debate dedicated exclusively to climate change. But Wednesday evening Inslee announced that his campaign received a call from the DNC "letting us know that they will not host a climate debate."
What's more, Inslee said the DNC told him that if he participated in another climate debate, outside of the DNC, the candidate and current governor of Washington would not be invited to any of the highly anticipated and televised DNC debates.
But Inslee isn't relenting.
"I remain deeply disappointed that the DNC has chosen not to listen to these Democrats, and has threatened to punish candidates who would participate in an outside climate debate," he said in a statement Thursday morning.
Inslee emphasized that the grassroots base of the Democratic party wants a climate debate, an issue that has had either weak or zero coverage in previous presidential debates.
"Today, I am calling on my fellow presidential candidates to urge the DNC to reconsider its position on a climate debate," Inslee added. "Together, we can speak to the DNC with a loud voice: We need a full-length debate on the climate crisis."
Skyrocketing carbon emissions.Credit: nasaInslee makes a valid point. The American public -- witnessing a stark rise in extreme weather events around the nation -- has grown increasingly troubled by the globally disrupted climate, especially Democrats. A CNN survey, conducted in April by the independent research agency SSRS, found that climate change is the top concern among Democratic voters, beating out traditionally hot topics like guns and health care.
Consequently, there's been significant displeasure voiced online about the DNC's decision.
"The total stupidity of the Democratic National Committee on climate is just maddening," Justin Gillis, a climate and energy expert who formerly led climate change coverage at The New York Times, tweeted Wednesday night. "With public concern rising, the Democrats should own this issue and run hard on it. Instead they dance around it and let the Republicans get away with gross dereliction."
SEE ALSO:Fearless TV weather forecasters air the planet's soaring carbon levels"It's a mistake for the @DNC to refuse to hold a #climate debate, on the most critical issue of this election," tweeted Al Gore. "Why wouldn't the party listen to its voters and give a platform to Dem candidates' ideas on the #1 issue, to contrast with this President's denial?"
"The total stupidity of the Democratic National Committee on climate is just maddening."
When asked why the DNC would not hold a climate debate, Xochitl Hinojosa, the organization's communications director, replied in a statement that, "While climate change is at the top of our list, the DNC will not be holding entire debates on a single-issue area because we want to make sure voters have the ability to hear from candidates on dozens of issues of importance to American voters."
Inslee, however, is not the only Democratic candidate pushing for a climate focused debate. Both Senator Elizabeth Warren and former Representative Beto O'Rourke underscored their support for a climate debate after learning of the DNC's decision.
International agreement about rising global temperatures.Credit: nasaAtmospheric scientists, geologists, meteorologists, and climate researchers at NASA, NOAA, and top research institutes around the world agree with overwhelming consensus that emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases are driving an accelerating climate disruption.
The most important of these greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide, is now rising at rates that are unprecedented in the historical and geological record.
SEE ALSO:Fearless TV weather forecasters air the planet's soaring carbon levelsThe Earth is responding in a well-predicted way. There is long-term, widespread drought in the Southwest, stark increases in pummeling deluges and historic floods, and the melting of the planet's great ice sheets.
On Tuesday, the day before the DNC rejected the idea of a climate debate, environmental chemist Sarah Green told Mashable that "it's extremely alarming to see atmospheric CO2 continuing to increase relentlessly year after year when all scenarios that lead to a stable climate require that it go down."
"We are heading toward the part of the climate map labeled 'here there be dragons' and rather than turning around, or even slowing down, we are running faster," she added.
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