Hello. Welcome to the state of emergency. I’m LV Anderson (Laura to my colleagues), a senior editor at Grist. Today, I’m in charge of the newsletter, taking a wide-angle look at how climate change is impacting not just the United States, but democracy. all over the world.
One of the biggest talking points in this year’s US presidential election is former President Donald Trump’s authoritarian rhetoric. Over the past few years, Mr. Trump has described his political opponents as:pest” and more 100 threats prosecute, imprison, or otherwise punish them; He said it would be. Dictator on “Day 1” in his second term. He calls for “the repeal of all rules, regulations, and provisions, even if found.” in the constitution“he Immigrants treated as demons He promised mass deportations. This is just one of President Trump’s many promises to ignore democratic norms to pursue retribution and personal grievances.
Former President Donald Trump speaks at a campaign event in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania on July 31st.
Spencer Pratt/Getty Images
In some ways, Trump’s personality and bombast are uniquely American. But he is not the only politician around the world to incite violence, scapegoat vulnerable communities, and pursue unchecked power in recent years. Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu are just a few of President Trump’s international counterparts. The global rise of these authoritarian populists, also known as strongmen, coincides with rapidly accelerating climate change and unprecedented hurricanes, droughts, heat waves, and wildfires. Is it possible that climate change is actually contributing to the rise of authoritarianism? That’s the question I addressed in my latest post for Grist.
Economists and social scientists have found evidence that global warming may push individuals and nations toward authoritarianism.
While there is never a single factor behind political trends, economists and social scientists believe that global warming (which increases people’s physical, social, and economic vulnerability) will We found evidence that it could push states in an authoritarian direction. “Climate change is often discussed as a global security risk,” said Imo Fritsche, a professor of social psychology at the University of Leipzig in Germany. The theory is that as climate change reduces access to water and habitable land around the world, conflicts between groups will increase. But Fritsche has co-authored a series of studies demonstrating that reminding people of the dangers of climate change can lead to stronger adherence to group norms and denigration of outsiders. .
His findings point to a possible alternative explanation for how climate change contributes to political instability. “The idea was to think about another potential catalytic process that might also be associated with such an effect. It’s a little more psychological, a little more subtle.”
You can read about Fritsche’s work and other studies examining the relationship between climate change and authoritarianism. Click here for my full article. I hope you find this line of scholarship as interesting as I do.
Puerto Rico referendum
Puerto Rico is still struggling to recover From the historic damage caused by Hurricane Maria in 2017, which destroyed the U.S. territory’s power grid and caused an unprecedented humanitarian crisis. Trump, who became president in the same year, Withheld nearly $20 billion in disaster aid. and famous threw a roll of paper towels Nearby, islanders fell into the crowd as they struggled with limited federal aid.
Now, one week before the election, the former president’s response to the storm is once again in the spotlight at his rally in New York City. “I don’t know if you guys know this, but right now there’s literally a floating island of garbage in the middle of the ocean. I think it’s called Puerto Rico,” stand-up comedian Tony Hinchcliffe said on Sunday. He spoke at the beginning of a Trump rally at Madison Square Garden. Trump’s campaign quickly condemned the racist comment, saying, “This joke does not reflect the views of President Trump or his campaign.” senior advisor said — But the Harris camp Puerto Rico policy plan On the same day, it already attacked.
Vice President Kamala Harris attended an event in Puerto Rico to highlight her administration’s support for the recovery and revitalization of the U.S. territory.
Drew Angerer/AFP via Getty Images
Vice President Harris: “Today, as President, I am announcing plans to help build a brighter future for Puerto Rico and Puerto Ricans.” Posted in X Sunday night. “Meanwhile, Donald Trump’s rallies refer to Puerto Rico as a ‘floating island of trash.’ Harris’ proposal, called “Building an Opportunity Economy for Puerto Rico,” would make the island’s power grid greener and more resilient by leveraging federal disaster funding and clean energy tax credits from the Control Inflation Act. The focus is on making something happen.
Latin pop stars Bad Bunny, Jennifer Lopez and Ricky Martin, who have tens of millions of followers, have weighed in on the number of racist, misogynistic and vitriolic comments made by the former president and other speakers at their rallies. Hours later, Harris shared his plans for Puerto Rico. , including Hinchcliffe, began making headlines. Puerto Ricans can participate in the primary elections, but because they do not have the right to vote in the Electoral College, residents have no say in who becomes president. However, there are nearly 6 million Puerto Ricans living in the continental United States who can vote, and 8 percent of them live in Pennsylvania. Swing state unveiled by Mr. Harris She announced her Puerto Rico policy plan on Sunday.
— Zoya Theierstein
what we are reading
Colorado River Punt: The Biden administration, which is leading negotiations among seven western states over water use from the Colorado River, has decided to postpone decisions on water cuts until next year, Politico Pro reported. It will be up to the next president to decide who will bear the brunt of future river water shortages.
read more
Harris leads in disaster polls: Voters trust Kamala Harris more than Donald Trump to handle natural disasters, according to a new poll from left-leaning pollster Data for Progress. The poll, conducted days after Hurricane Milton, found the vice president leading the former president 50% to 46% on the issue.read more
Hurricane on election day?: Although hurricane season is nearing an end, there is still enough heat in the tropics to support the formation of tropical cyclones, and some models are predicting the possibility of a tropical cyclone forming around Election Day next week. I even predict that there will be. Florida counties are making contingency plans to move polling places, Florida Today reports, but there are limits to what they can do.read more
President Trump politicized disaster relief: In the final months of his presidency, then-President Donald Trump refused to grant a disaster declaration for blue states as Washington state scrambled to recover from wildfires. The state’s former Democratic governor, Jay Inslee, told E&E News that he had to wait until President Joe Biden took office to get funding from FEMA.read more
Ballot box arson: A mail-in ballot drop box in Vancouver, Washington, was set on fire in an apparent arson attack Monday morning, following similar arson attempts in Portland, Oregon, and Phoenix. The city of Vancouver is part of Washington’s 3rd Congressional District, home to one of the most vulnerable Democrats in the closely divided House of Representatives.read more
Research contributed by Jake Bittle.
