Author: Terry Tamminen

Joining the hundreds of thousands of marchers in Washington DC to highlight the need for global action on climate change, I could not escape noticing that it was the same day as President Trump’s 100th day in office. With news media (and many clever signs in the March) bombarding us with “first 100 days” report cards, I began thinking about what the next 100 days might look like and soon realized that Americans – – especially Trump supporters – – are about to become the big losers.

You would think a President who appoints the CEO of Exxon/Mobil and the former Governor of Texas to key cabinet positions would love the oil and gas industry. Perhaps he does, but his latest executive order amounts to an unintentional regulatory shot across the bow of Big Oil & Gas.

From what we’ve seen of the President-elect so far, he seems to like big, bold ideas. Here’s one that could change the world.

Here are two facts about the man who will soon be President of the United States, only one of which can be true. 

Shortly before the start of World War II, Adolf Hitler decided that every German should be able to afford a car, so he created and subsidized the Kraft durch Freude (Strength through Joy) Wagen. 

Traveling through the Middle East this week, I heard unprecedented pessimism from colleagues in government and the private sector about the health of economies that are mostly dependent on the flaccid price of oil. 

‘Tis the season of prognostications in the media for 2016, but how can anyone make serious predictions in a world full of uncertainties and surprises (think Trump, Paris terror attacks, and Kobe Bryant’s retirement)? To guide my own conjecture, I looked back at 2015 for signposts and found four big ones worth mention.

A new global agreement on climate change is in the works and could be completed later this month in Paris. It’s a good thing, because epic droughts, record-breaking heat and cold waves, and killer storms have become the new normal, along with countless other examples that validate the predictions that have been made by our best scientists for decades. But pledges from national governments alone may not be sufficient to solve this global existential challenge – – they must be backed up by action.

As the world gathers in Paris to hammer out a new comprehensive agreement to tackle climate change, the success or failure of that deal will rest to a great degree on the next President of the United States. Regardless of one’s political or economic views, or scientific understanding of the topic, a lot is at stake for the world’s environment and its economy, so our next choice of President matters. Here then is a summary of the candidates “climate IQ” (focused on those most likely to win their party’s nomination based on current polls*):