| It's hard to avoid the conclusion that the fight over climate change is now the culture war. "Drill, baby, drill" has become a way to offend the elites, argues conservative political commentator David Brooks, not a true expression of policy beliefs. Even as billions of dollars pour into red states for the clean-energy economy, Republicans are trying to dismantle the Biden administration's clean-energy efforts. Polling seems to confirm this shift. Republicans are now less likely to support climate action compared to a few years ago. Roughly three-quarters of Republicans say they would prioritize the economy over climate action, according to a new NPR/PBS NewsHour/Marist poll. That's up 13 points since 2018. And while more than half of Americans see climate change as a major threat — about 90 percent of Democrats and a small majority of independents — only 28 percent of Republicans agree with them. Opposition to climate change, for many, has become a reflex rooted in their political identity. But it isn't hopeless on the climate front. First, many Republicans support policies benefiting the climate — even if they reject proposals explicitly labeled as such. For example, the Pew Research Center reports that 70 percent of Republicans support more solar panel farms and 60 percent favor more wind farms, often on the grounds of energy security and cost. The best hope for national climate action — and for avoiding contentious dinner table conversations — may be to not mention "climate" at all. That was the strategy adopted by someone I interviewed years ago leading a multistate effort to rebuild "natural infrastructure": forests, wetlands and floodplains in the Midwest. The climate resilience and mitigation effort reduced flood damage and lowered the region's greenhouse emissions as floodplains returned to nature. Politicians at the state and local levels threw their support behind it. "They're very engaged with climate action, they just don't call it climate action," said the program's director, who spoke on the condition of anonymity given the political sensitivity. "It comes down to how you describe the work on the ground. They call it disaster resilience or disaster preparedness." Is this the ideal solution? Probably not. It will change — in time. It wasn't that long ago that major climate bills were being spearheaded by Republicans in the Senate. But for now, it's one strategy to win a culture war. "If the sole purpose is to reduce carbon in the atmosphere," said the director, "you're going to have a hard time selling them." | 
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