Climate change denial is often seen as a mainstay of the political right, as leaders like President-elect Donald Trump and House Speaker Mike Johnson ignore or contradict the overwhelming scientific evidence that humans are cooking our only planet. It wasn’t always this way, of course — Republicans were once moderate stewards of the environment, with presidents like Richard Nixon passing progressive environmental laws. Now our global ecosystem crisis is often dismissed by conservatives as a “hoax” while we do nothing to stop drilling for oil or subsidizing fossil fuel companies.
But not everyone on the right denies climate change is a real and growing threat. Indeed, many people not only agree with the scientific consensus, they have used climate change as an excuse to push white supremacist ideologies and lash out against immigration. This phenomenon is far from new.
