I’ll keep this short (ish) because the headline is the punchline. I try to avoid writing about politics, because politics suck. They’re toxic and divisive, and one5c is a place where people of all perspectives and beliefs can come for information about how they can protect one fundamental asset we all have in common. This election, though, is too important. It is both a real danger and a huge opportunity. Your vote for a candidate who supports aggressive measures to combat global warming is one of the most powerful actions you can take.
Hell, let’s say you went and voted on November 8 and then peeled out of the polling place parking lot at warp speed, grabbed a steak, cooked it over a coal fire, and then went to bed with the heat cranked into the tropics. You’d still be in the environmental black for that day. No matter what anybody tells you, know that your vote matters. But so does the candidate you choose.
The GOP makes it hard to pitch a big tent. I’m not going to get into Roe, politically motivated violence, election denial, or any of the other factors at play in this election, because it’s not my lane. Here’s my lane: The Republican party has made a party line out of voting against crucial climate legislation, and we don’t have time for that bullshit. Check the receipts.
Every single Republican has voted against the climate. If that party gains control of either house of Congress, it will delay further action that could safeguard the planet. If the GOP comes out of Tuesday’s contest in control of both houses, they will roll back much of the progress the current administration has made. You wanna put money on it? My email’s down there 👇
You need to vote, and you need to vote for candidates who pledge to support ambitious climate action. Then you need to get everyone you know to do the same.
The GOP’s fiscal arguments don’t sound ludicrous. There’s the one about how Biden’s energy policy, anticipating a shift away from fossil fuels, drove up the price of oil. There’s the argument that Dems injected so much money into the economy that it overheated. These talking points are distractions.
Like many of you, my family feels inflation. (I write a free newsletter and have a three-year-old daughter. AMA.) But a GOP-controlled legislature, for all its bluster about fiscal responsibility, will be unable to bring prices down. What could they do? The Republican-appointed Fed chair is already dialing up rates. Vladimir Putin will not end his war if Herschel Walker gets a new job. It’s more likely that a Republican Senate and/or House would just hand Big Oil more money. Again.
I do not mean to dismiss anyone’s economic difficulties. I don’t rank my values above yours. But we have absolutely no time to waste in taking the most aggressive steps possible to preserve our planet. The world is literally on fire; we helped set the blaze, and we can’t bogart the hose. This should not be a political battle. It is the fight of all of our lives, and electing leaders who take it seriously is the biggest punch we can land right now.
We’ve made pretty good progress in the past two years. The Biden administration has passed the most extensive climate-mitigating legislation in history. The Inflation Reduction Act is poised to bring our national greenhouse gas emissions down by 40 percent as compared to 2005 levels. Unfortunately, it’s not enough. The Inflation Reduction Act “will still only get the United States about 80 percent of the way to its current pledge to cut emissions,” Taryn Fransen, of the World Resources Institute told the New York Times. We need our government to do more.
If we only maintain our current path, we all but guarantee that our planet will warm in excess of 1.5 degrees celsius (2.7 Fahrenheit), and bring about more catastrophic damage from climate change. More monster hurricanes. More drought. More deaths due to extreme heat.
This may sound bleak, but there’s sun behind the clouds: Look at what the current administration has done in two years. Imagine what two more could do for U.S. climate policy. Our country could be an environmental beacon. The Inflation Reduction Act and the Infrastructure Bill are no-joke touchdowns; now it’s time to consolidate the win.
You need to vote, and you need to vote for candidates who pledge to support ambitious climate action. Then you need to get everyone you know to do the same.
The IRA needs to be the beginning, not the end, of our country’s efforts to curb emissions; if the GOP takes control, it will—at best—do nothing to advance efforts. The promise of Democracy is that our diverse country elects leaders who govern based on a broad range of perspectives. But the fine print of that contract is that every leader, no matter how much money they get from Chevron, will protect all of the people who live here. That is not happening. Republicans vote as an obstructive block, and will halt any measures that would help combat global warming. That puts generations of lives at risk.
This is true on a national level, but those elections are almost less important than state contests. Up and down every ballot across the country, officials are running for local offices that could have as much or more impact than any individual House member.
Governors set the agenda for how aggressively your state moves to protect the environment. Proposals like the Environmental Bond Act in New York State (if you live here, vote for it) are generational opportunities.
State legislatures set state budgets (duh), and direct giant pools of federal money at local projects that address environmental justice, habitat restoration, and more.
Town boards have tremendous latitude to take action you’ll see and feel, like where your community gets its energy from. They can sponsor programs like municipal composting and home energy retrofits. These initiatives can have a tremendous impact.
Secretaries of State could overturn election results, and anoint the next president. New administrations overturn executive orders every time they take office, so any actions Biden puts forward will only last the remainder of his term plus as long as his predecessors allow them to continue.
School and library board elections have tremendous influence over what our kids learn about climate science.
You need to vote, and you need to vote for candidates who pledge to support ambitious climate action. Then you need to get everyone you know to do the same.
You get the point. This may not be a presidential election, but the stakes are high. Please go out and vote, and help others vote, too. Donate to a tough race if you’re able. Put up a yard sign. Knock on doors. Help your neighbor get to their polling place. And, of course, share this email with everyone you know, because voting is our power. We can create a government that will protect our world.
Take care of yourself, and the rest of us, too.
Joe
joe@one5c.com
Some resources:
Info on same-day voter registration