The Current for Nov. 5, 2020
Today on The Current:
As the outcome of the U.S. presidential election slowly becomes clearer, we start with a closer look at who voted for Donald Trump, and the steep cost the Democrats may pay for letting those voters get away. We talk to Rev. Leah Daughtry, former chief of staff of the Democratic National Committee; Eduardo Gamarra, professor in the department of politics and international relations at Florida International University; and Matt Jones, author of Mitch, Please! How Mitch McConnell Sold Out Kentucky (and America, Too).
Then, as the world watched U.S. votes being counted, the country officially pulled out of the Paris Agreement on climate. In a special on climate change, we discuss what that withdrawal means, and what happens next, with Michael E. Mann, a climate scientist and distinguished professor of atmospheric science at Pennsylvania State University; Elan Strait, director of U.S. climate campaigns with the World Wildlife Fund; and Jessica Green, a political science professor specializing in international climate policy at the University of Toronto.
Plus, could solar geoengineering be a solution to climate change? There are several methods, including spraying sulphuric acid into the stratosphere to reflect light back into space. But do we know enough about the risks and potential side-effects? We learn more from David Keith, a professor of applied physics at Harvard's school of engineering and applied sciences.
And when it comes to fighting climate change, author Elin Kelsey says hope matters more than you might think. She tells us why it's actually a political act.