For the first time in 12 years, the moderator of a presidential debate asked a question about climate change last night. Climate change was the focus of an unusually substantive, approximately 10-minute portion of the otherwise raucous 90-minute presidential debate between President Trump and former Vice President Joe Biden — about equal to the time devoted to the issue in all presidential debates after 2004 combined and the most time ever spent on the issue in a single debate. Climate change was not one of the pre-announced debate topics, an omission that sparked substantial criticism and public pushback from advocates and lawmakers. Recent polling also showed 74% of voters want to see debate moderators ask climate questions. (Grist, Mother Jones, E&E News, Criticism over climate omission: Washington Post $)