Presidential candidates scant climate change

New York Times : Implicitly attributing 2012’s “record-smashing temperatures, drought and Arctic ice melt” to human-caused climate disruption, a Times article observes that neither presidential candidate is engaging the issue and that no debate moderator has asked about it. Both candidates emphasize support for carbon dioxide–generating coal, oil, and gas. President Obama “has supported broad climate change legislation, financed extensive clean energy projects and pushed new regulations to reduce global warming emissions from cars and power plants.” But neither candidate “has laid out ... a legislative or regulatory program to address the fundamental questions arising from one of the most vexing economic, environmental, political and humanitarian issues to face the planet.” The Times notes that “Mr. Obama occasionally mentions climate change on the campaign trail, but he generally raises the issue to present a contrast with Mr. Romney.”