None of the Questions at CNN's Democratic Primary Debate Were About the Climate Crisis

From the Mass Sierra Club: 
We are in alignment with the multiple climate advocates (cited in the article below) who are frustrated and saddened by the fact that no questions about the climate crisis emerged during this week's Democratic debate. As Sunrise Movement put it: "Just a livable future for our generation at stake. Guess there’s no need to ask what the next President of the United States is gonna do about it."

It is insanity to not consistently make the climate crisis the single most important issue in the presidential debates AND that we are hearing and talking about everywhere! Along with all else that he stands for, this is the primary reason that I am endorsing Bernie Sanders ― he has the strongest plan to comprehensively address together the national and planetary peril we are in! ― Molly

Cable news candidate forums are no excuse to ignore the 

existential crisis of our time on the debate stage

By EVLONDO COOPER

There were no questions about the climate crisis during the CNN/New York Times Democratic presidential primary debate in Westerville, Ohio, on October 15. This is a marked decrease from the already meager number of climate questions asked by CNN’s moderators at a previous two-night Democratic primary debate in July.

Both CNN and MSNBC hosted well-received presidential forums devoted to the issue of climate change. But forums, which draw less attention than debates, limit interaction among candidates, and can conflict with other events, are no substitute for a dedicated climate debate or, at a minimum, a substantive climate discussion during a conventional debate.

Some environmental activists and climate journalists took to Twitter to express their dismay about the complete lack of climate questions in last night’s debate.

Sunrise Movement ✔@sunrisemvmt

2 hours and 20 minutes into tonight’s #DemDebate and still not a single question on the climate crisis from @CNN @nytimes @DNC.

Just a livable future for our generation at stake. Guess there’s no need to ask what the next President of the United States is gonna do about it.

Friends of the Earth✔@foe_us

Replying to @foe_us and 3 others

And the last question of the #DemDebate is not about the climate catastrophe that we are facing...it's about friendship.

Shame on @CNN @nytimes for ignoring the existential threat of climate change. Americans deserve to learn how our future president will tackle this crisis.

Discussion of the climate crisis and solutions to address it have been lacking in this year’s presidential primary debates. The climate crisis was the topic of 7% of questions during the ABC/Univision Democratic presidential primary debate in Houston on September 12, 9.5% of questions during CNN’s two-night debate in July, and less than 6% of the questions during the two-night debate hosted by NBC in late June.

Climate forums have limitations only a debate can address

As voters made climate change a top-tier issue, a coalition of environmental and progressive groups, including Credo Action, 350 Action, Greenpeace USA, Sunrise Movement, the U.S. Youth Climate Strike, and Daily Kos worked throughout the spring and summer to demand a Democratic National Committee-sanctioned climate debate, a demand that was officially rejected in August.

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