Republican environmentalists not only exist, but they make a lot of sense

Politics

Republican environmentalists not only exist, but they make a lot of sense

A recent study found that even among conservative parties in other developed countries, the Republican Party stands alone in doubting the threat, or even the existence, of human-driven climate change. At least 97 percent of active climate scientists say that climate-warming trends are the result of human activity. But nowadays, in the United States, one’s political affiliation is often a better predictor of his or her opinion on this issue than his or her knowledge of science or level of education.

The antiscience rhetoric of some Republicans, Schmidt suggested, is an example of shooting the messenger when they hear that natural resource exploitation might need to be regulated or curtailed — seemingly at odds with their small-government principles. Scott Denning, a climate scientist and professor of atmospheric science at Colorado State University, explains it’s the strategy behind how scientists explain climate change that makes some people defensive and all but invites them to disagree with the premise that humans are responsible. However, conserving the environment is by definition conservative. Incentivizing American entrepreneurship, innovation and free-market forces to invigorate the national economy and address the climate crisis is conservative. Putting a price on carbon so that polluters rather than taxpayers take responsibility for their own actions by footing the bill is conservative.