Recent Events Prompting US Voters to Act on Climate Change

A whole host of events have transpired in the US this summer that should make it easier for voters to understand the tangible implications of climate change. From dwindling Arctic ice, heatwaves, droughts, wildfires and record setting ocean temperatures, voters have a many good reasons to factor climate change into their voting decision this November.

The month of July was the hottest month ever recorded in the lower 48 states in 125 years of record keeping. A report prepared by Democrats in the House Natural Resources and Energy committees, showed that 64 percent of the continental US suffered through drought this summer. Wildfires consumed huge swaths of the West. Ocean surface temperatures in the northeastern Atlantic broke the previous record. As noted in National Geographic, the summer of 2012 also saw the Arctic sea ice sheet melt "further, and faster, than has ever been seen before in human history."

Although US voters have lots of reminders of the veracity of climate change, it remains to be seen if this will have any impact at the ballot box.

European Elections and Sustainable Development

In Europe voters have chosen growth over austerity and this has implications for the U.S. economy and sustainable development. The Greek and French electorate’s rejection of austerity will have a dramatic effect on European spending, including investments in sustainability. These changes can also be expected to reverberate across the Atlantic.