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‘Weird science’ and the struggle for truth | Data Driven

A hoax. A scam. A conspiracy theory perpetuated by the left. 

There has been no shortage of fear-mongering and name-calling when it comes to the discussion of the climate crisis. 

Especially with election season around the corner, watching the Republican party navigate their varying — and often evading — stances on climate change is almost comical. I’ve seen it range from avoiding questions on the topic to flat out denying climate change’s existence and all things in between, as these politicians attempt to prevent alienation of certain groups of voters while still doubling down on their oil-and-gas supremacy stance. 

We saw Trump and Harris spar on climate change during the presidential debate, so when October first rolled around, I was curious to see how J.D. Vance would handle the topic during the vice presidential debate.

The tragedy of Hurricane Helene offered an important backdrop to a climate question: “More than 160 people are dead, and hundreds more are missing. Scientists say climate change makes these hurricanes larger, stronger and more deadly,” moderator Nora O’Donnell said during the debate. “Senator, what responsibility would the Trump Administration have to try and reduce the impact of climate change?”

Vance started by mourning the loss of lives due to Hurricane Helene before moving on to the meat of the question. 

“One of the things I’ve noticed some of our Democratic friends talking a lot about is a concern about carbon emissions, this idea that carbon emissions drives all of the climate change,” Vance said. “Well, let’s just say that’s true, just for the sake of argument so we’re not arguing about weird science.”

Immediately, we’re off to a meandering, slightly confusing start as Vance attempts to distance himself from the facts O’Donnell presented in the question. Not only does he brush off the effects of carbon emissions on the environment, pretending to acknowledge their existence “for the sake of argument,” but he classifies climate change as “weird” science andturns a legitimate, important field of research into a hand-wavy, unreliable discipline. 

“Well, if you believe that,” Vance said of carbon emissions as a cause of climate change. “What would you want to do?”

“If.” With no acknowledgement of the scientific consensus that climate change is a real, worrisome issue that impacts our immediate and long-term future, Vance instead works around the moderator’s wording to plant the seeds of doubt and denial. 

This comes right off the back of a massive onslaught of lies and misinformation from Trump as he commentates on Hurricane Helene. Li Zhou wrote for Vox that not only are many of these claims baseless and untrue, “federal officials say Trump’s disinformation — which has been condemned by regional Republican leaders — could further harm the relief effort, and deter people who need aid from trying to pursue it.”

Among Trump’s falsehoods are the claims that Harris “spent all her FEMA [Federal Emergency Management Agency] money” and that Republican areas are being mistreated by the government. FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell said on ABC’s “This Week” that these claims are “frankly ridiculous and just plain false.”

Trump even went so far as to blame the “little hurricane in Florida” for messing with the timing of his rallies and leading people to leave early, Newsweek reported. Harris seemed to hit a sore spot during the presidential debate when she jabbed that “people start leaving early out of exhaustion and boredom.”

Using a devastating natural disaster as a petty excuse for diminishing interest in his campaign is a new low for Trump.

Not only that, but to dismiss Hurricane Helene as “little” is so insensitive and irreverent that if anybody else in politics said it, I would be astonished. 

Jennifer Rubins wrote for The Washington Post, “Vance, like many authoritarian propagandists, does not necessarily think he can persuade voters of his wild claims. Rather, the aim is to confuse them about whether the truth is even knowable” 

I believe that Vance, Trump and many members of the Republican party have successfully brought us to that point. Understanding the gravity and weight of the climate crisis feels like an insurmountable task when the people who are supposed to be in charge keep us ignorant and bewildered. Despite the objectivity of science, especially agreed-upon and rigorously proven science, we’re in an era where the truth is malleable and facts are subservient to politics. 

We can even take a step back from the messy, overly political discussion of climate change and talk about simple leadership efficacy. Trump is a leader who denies the size and scope of this catastrophe and actively works against helping people receive the support that they need to survive. 

The time that FEMA officials must spend countering Trump’s lies, including keeping a “Hurricane Rumor Response” fact page up on their official website, is valuable time that could be better spent elsewhere. 

Climate change is polarizing, but death and destruction shouldn’t be. It’s high time that we stray from the nebulous, vague climate arguments and zero in on the real cost at stake: human lives.

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