Evidence of global warming was everywhere in 2012—except for the Presidential election. During the campaign, climate change virtually disappeared as an active issue, with Republican Mitt Romney mocking even the suggestion of climate action, while Democrat Barack Obama mostly ignored it. That was chiefly due to the bad economy, which sucked up most of the campaign season’s energy and voter attention. But it was also a mark of how politically polarized climate has become in national politics—and a sign of just how difficult it will be to get the momentum needed to do something at last about what might be the problem facing humankind.
Science & Space
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8. Climate Change Goes Missing in the 2012 Election
Full List
Top 10 Green Stories
- 10. Superstorm Sandy Brings Climate Change Home
- 9. Offshore Oil Drilling Begins in the Arctic
- 8. Climate Change Goes Missing in the 2012 Election
- 7. 2012 on Track to Be the Warmest Year on Record
- 6. Arctic Sea Ice Melts to Record Low Levels
- 5. The Battle Over Keystone XL
- 4. The U.S. Oil Boom
- 3. California Puts a Cap on Carbon
- 2. The Battle to Label GM Foods
- 1. The Great Midwest Drought
Top 10 New Species
- 10. Prehistoric Crocodile
- 9. The Galapagos Deep-Sea Cat Shark
- 8. The Auburn Tiger Trapdoor Spider
- 7. Ancient Rodents in Chilean Grasslands
- 6. Peruvian Porcupine
- 5. Peruvian Small-Eared Shrew
- 4. The Congolese Cercopithecus Lomamiensis Monkey
- 3. Parrot-Headed, Big-Fanged Porcupine Dinosaur
- 2. Big-Fanged Jumping Spider
- 1. Peruvian Night Monkey
Top 10 Space Moments
- 10. The Moon Implicated in the Sinking of the Titanic
- 9. NASA Gets Two New Hubbles–For Free
- 8. Nanoparticles in the Moon’s Soil
- 7. North Korea’s Satellite Flop
- 6. Geysers on Mars
- 5. Ocean on Saturn’s Moon Enceladus
- 4. Discovery of Earthlike Planet Around Alpha Centauri
- 3. Dawn Spacecraft Geads Off to Ceres
- 2. Dragon Spacecraft Docks with International Space Station
- 1. Curiosity Rover Lands on Mars