Climate change has been a growing controversy between the Democratic and Republican parties. Some hope to crack down on unsustainable energy practices to stop climate change from degrading Earth’s plant and animal species, while others believe it is crucial to support the oil and gas industries due to energy independence and job creation. Voters’ views on climate change will help decide the outcome of the 2024 presidential election, specially given that climate change has significantly intensified in recent years. According to the Copernicus Climate Change Serive — a European Union Earth Observation Program — 2023 was the warmest year in global records going back to 1850. Moreover, according to 2023 research conducted by the World Health Organization, 3.6 billion people already live in areas highly susceptible to climate change. As Gunn students approach voting age, their understanding of current debates will help them establish their opinions on the matter.

Concern about climate change has increased rapidly for decades. In 1970, former U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson created Earth Day to raise awareness about environmental issues. In 1988, ozone-layer depletion became an increasingly prominent issue in politics. The ozone layer protects the Earth from harmful ultraviolet radiation, and its depletion contributes significantly to global warming. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency states that currently, the rate of warming is more than three times as fast as it was in 1980.

Beyond the ozone layer, Earth’s average temperatures are increasing, sea levels are rising, glaciers and ice sheets are melting and severe weather is becoming more frequent, according to the Nature Conservancy, a global environmental nonprofit. Indeed, scientists estimate that the “safe threshold” for global warming could be passed in less than a decade. Nevertheless, Democratic and Republican views differ significantly when it comes to climate change. A 2022 U.S. survey conducted by the Pew Research Center on climate change showed that amongst the respondents, 78% of self-identified Democrats and 23% of self-identified Republicans view climate change as a major threat to the nation’s well-being.

Many Democrats believe that tackling climate change is important because of the threat it poses to humanity. During his time in office, President Joe Biden — who is running for reelection this year — passed the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, the largest piece of federal legislation to address climate change thus far. Aiming to reduce carbon pollution, this act includes $8.8 billion in subsidies for home energy efficiency and electrification projects, which are estimated to save American homeowners up to $1 billion per year.

On the other hand, many Republicans don’t see a strong connection between human activity and climate change. In 2017, former President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Paris Climate Agreement, which slowed international efforts to reduce emissions. Additionally, in 2020, Trump finalized plans that allowed mining and drilling in nearly 1 million acres of land in Utah, which were formerly off-limits. More recently, ahead of the Jan. 15 Iowa caucuses, Trump supporters showed their enthusiasm for oil and gas drilling. Along with former United Nations Ambassador Nikki Haley and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, Trump promised surging levels of oil and gas drilling and the removal of President Biden’s climate change policies.

These differences could prove significant in November. According to 2024 research conducted by Matthew Burgess, an associate professor at Brooklyn College, views on climate change played a significant role in whom people voted for in 2020. Burgess and his team of researchers from Vanderbilt University and the University of California, Santa Barbara used logistic regression, a machine learning model and a simulation of the Electoral College, adjusting the importance of climate change in their study. They concluded that Republicans could have gained at least a 3% swing in the popular vote if climate change was not a top priority for voters, which would have almost guaranteed them the White House in 2020. Burgess’ team also found that one-quarter of Republicans who find climate change to be an important issue voted for Biden in the 2020 election.

In 2023, the Pew Research Center found that around three-fourths of Democrats approve of Biden’s actions against climate change. A large portion of the electorate views climate change as an important issue and want to see a future where it is taken into account. These beliefs will lead people to vote for the candidate that supports their views — most likely Biden.

Of course, this doesn’t mean that Biden’s policies have universal support. Some climate advocates feel that he isn’t meeting expectations. On Sept. 18, 2023, climate activists gathered in Midtown Manhattan to protest Biden’s insufficient progress in addressing climate change. Young voters in particular used the protest to show frustration with the slow pace of political action on green issues.

The ongoing debate surrounding climate change extends beyond presidential debates — it is something that will be discussed among students, clubs, families and communities. As Gunn students observe the effects of climate change around them, they should take care to understand candidates’ positions on the issue before deciding who they support.

The abortion debate in the United States reached a turning point in the landmark 1973 U.S. Supreme Court case Roe v. Wade, which established the constitutional right to an abortion. Since the court’s 2022 decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization overturned this precedent, abortion is no longer considered a federal right, but rather a matter for each state to decide. This shift has resulted in stark contrasts between the abortion laws of states that protect access to abortion and those that have banned or restricted it. These laws, both protective or restrictive, have had tangible, immediate consequences on women’s autonomy, spurring women who may have been dispassionate before to become more politically engaged.

In this charged context, candidates are calibrating political strategies. Democrats are leveraging the issue to consolidate support among pro-choice voters by framing Republicans as staunchly anti-choice. President Joe Biden’s $25 million ad campaign “These Guys,” launched on Aug. 25, asserts that reproductive health care decisions are personal and rebukes leading Republican presidential candidates Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis for their stances on abortion.

On the flip side, Republican presidential candidates’ approaches are more divided. To appeal to religious and conservative voters, several Republican candidates are adopting uncompromising pro-life positions on abortion. Republican presidential candidate Tim Scott, for example, has espoused a national ban. “Republicans should not be retreating on life,” he wrote in a July 31 post on X, formerly known as Twitter. “We need a national 15-week limit to stop blue states from pushing abortion on demand.” This stance contradicts the data from most polls, including a July 2023 Reuters/Ipsos poll, which show a majority of U.S. voters oppose presidential candidates who favor strict abortion restrictions.

On the other hand, some Republican candidates, including Trump, are steering clear of providing definite responses. In an NBC interview from September, Trump evaded questions about whether he would support a federal ban, saying he prefers that the issue be left to state legislatures.

The varying strategies in the party suggest that Republicans are attempting to walk a fine line between appealing to their core supporters and mollifying the general electorate. This balancing act becomes more complicated when considering the influence of female candidates and voters.

A Sept. 7 CNN poll showed Republican candidate Nikki Haley leading President Joe Biden by six points, establishing her as the only possible GOP contender with a clear lead over President Joe Biden in a hypothetical general election match-up. Haley signed a 20-week ban in South Carolina as governor but believes a nationwide 15-week ban is not feasible. “No Republican president can ban abortions any more than a Democrat president can ban all those state laws,” she said during the first presidential debate. “Don’t make women feel like they have to decide on this issue when you know we don’t have 60 Senate votes in the House.” Her call for a national consensus on abortion includes banning late-term abortions and making contraception widely available. As the only female Republican candidate, Haley’s nuanced stance on abortion sets her apart from her male opponents and could resonate with a broader demographic, including more centrist women and young voters.

How women vote may change the outcome of the 2024 election: Women voters swinging from Trump helped deliver the White House to Biden in 2020, and midterm exit polls showed that a bump in young voters — especially women — helped Democrats keep the Senate in 2022. Today, the Democratic Party has an edge over the Republican Party in terms of young, female voters: According to a poll from the Kaiser Family Foundation, 36% of independent young female voters say Democrats best represent their abortion views compared to 13% who say Republicans best represent their views.

Furthermore, an uptick in female voter registration, indicated by a New York Times article from September 2022, suggests that women will be increasingly pivotal players in the 2024 elections. Since the June 24 Dobbs decision, 64% of new registrants in Kansas, a historically Republican-voting state, have been women. In the six months before Dobbs, women outnumbered men nationally by a three-percentage-point margin among new voter registrations. After Dobbs, that gender gap skyrocketed to 40 points.

For Democrats, focusing on female voters, particularly those who are pro-choice, could solidify a base that is already leaning their way, making them an indispensable ally for a successful campaign. Republicans, too, have a compelling reason to prioritize women, particularly those who are pro-life.

Abortion rights are an issue that crosses the boundary between policy and personal values, making it one of the most hotly debated topics of the year. Women’s reproductive health rights have been a hard-fought battle for decades, and a changing abortion-rights landscape has galvanized many women to become politically engaged. And this debate will not only take place in the presidential election — it will be held in the hallways at Gunn, in classrooms and in clubs. Gunn students, who are navigating this divisive issue amid an already polarized climate, can hopefully look to nuanced positions for a different lens through which to view the ongoing debate on abortion rights as they approach voting age. The upcoming election isn’t merely a spar between candidates but a pivotal moment that will shape the world in which students live, vote and make choices about their own bodies.