As Another Republican Enters Presidential Race, Where Do GOP Candidates Stand on Climate Change?

If you are like me, your first reaction to these screaming headlines about John Kasich announcing he is running for the Republican nomination to be president is this: "Who in the hell is John Kasich?"

I had never heard of him. Surely, I cannot be the only one, either.

But he is actually the Republican governor of Ohio, and he has joined the already crowded field of Republicans hoping to win the White House next year.

In one sense, he is different from other Republicans in that he seems to believe in climate change. At the very least, he is not certain about it, one way or the other.

“I happen to believe there is a problem with climate change. I don’t want to overreact to it, I can’t measure it all, but I respect the creation that the Lord has given us and I want to make sure we protect it.”

Kasich does not want to overreact to the threat of climate change, feeling  also mentioned that people should not worship the environment, because that would amount to "pantheism."

He added:

"I believe there is something to [climate change], but to be unilaterally doing everything here while China and India are belching and putting us in a noncompetitive position isn’t good.”

Still, despite these comments, Kasich is actually relatively enlightened regarding climate change when compared to many of his fellow GOP candidates.

So, I did a little bit of research, and found one website that was very helpful in finding out what some of the most prominent Republicans out there feel (or seem to feel, at least) about climate change. Here were some of the highlights:


New Jersey's own Chris Christie:

I think climate change is real and I think human activity plays a role. OCTOBER 2013, GUBERNATORIAL DEBATE



Lindsey Graham:

The bottom line is that the solutions coming from our Democratic friends about how to deal with greenhouse gas emissions turn our economy upside down. JANUARY 2015, ON THE SENATE FLOOR



Scott Walker:

Top-down regulations and mandates from the federal government get in the way of innovation and growth. JANUARY 2015, WALKER'S STATE OF THE STATE ADDRESS




Republican Ben Carson has a Biblical interpretation towards climate change:

To use climate change as an excuse not to develop our God-given resources makes little sense. MARCH 2014, DESERT SUN EDITORIAL







Here are the links that allowed me to write this blog entry:


John Kasich Actually Believes in Climate Change. But He Doesn't Want to Fix It. By Tim McDonnell of Mother Jones, July 21, 2015:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/john-kasich-climate-change_55ae6450e4b0a9b9485289a1

John Kasich: “We Shouldn’t Try To Fix Climate Change Because That’s The Creator’s Wish” Written by Marry Ann Michaelson, July 21st 2015:

http://dcpols.com/john-kasich-we-shouldnt-try-to-fix-climate-change-because-thats-the-creators-wish/

THE GUIDE TO REPUBLICANS AND CLIMATE CHANGE Yes, pretty much everyone agrees it's real — but many aren't sure we can solve it. BY CLARE FORAN AND ANDREW MCGILL:

http://www.nationaljournal.com/twenty-sixteen/the-guide-to-republicans-and-climate-change-20150208