Oliver Milman: Political polarisation over climate crisis has surged under Trump // 'If they don't do it, we will': Greta Thunberg rallies climate strikers for long haul

By Dilip -
Donald Trump’s presidency has ushered in an era of unprecedented polarisation between Republican and Democrat lawmakers when it comes to voting on measures to tackle the climate crisis, while the fossil fuel industry now almost entirely favours Republicans in campaign contributions. The two main US political parties regularly voted along the same lines on clean air and clean water provisions in the 1970s but started to diverge in the 1990s. They now occupy opposite ends of the spectrum, according to data collated by the nonpartisan group the League of Conservation Voters 

Amid Trump’s zeal for environmental deregulation and an unfolding climate crisis that is now more divisive than abortion for many Americans, this polarisation is at record levels. Since Trump’s election, Democrats across Congress have voted for pro-environment legislation 92% of the time on average, compared with 5% for Republicans, according to an analysis by LCV. It said 2017 was a particularly extreme year, with Republicans in the Senate voting for environmental protections just 1% of the time. Forty-six Republican senators voted against environmental protections at every single opportunity....
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/11/political-polarisation-climate-crisis-trump

'If they don't do it, we will': Greta Thunberg rallies climate strikers for long haul
Young people must be prepared to strike for a long time for action on climate change and not back down, the Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has told a rally in Denver. Thunberg said she and fellow youth activists would not beg those in power to act because she expected leaders to keep ignoring them. “We will instead tell them, if they won’t do it, we will,” the 16-year-old said to loud cheers on Friday. “The world is waking up and we are the change. The change is coming whether you like it or not.”

Thunberg spoke for several minutes to a crowd of several thousand at Civic Center Park near the state capitol building. The rally highlighted Colorado activists, like Madhvi Chittoor, 8, who has campaigned in the state against plastics. Thunberg again scolded leaders for not doing enough to fight climate change and for ignoring science. Echoing a line from an angry speech at the United Nations last month that drew global attention, she said several times of leaders, “How dare they,” with some in the crowd repeating the line.


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