Earth In Crisis: The Sizzling Season
This Critical Election Year, Put Climate Crisis High On Your Mind
By Tracey MacDermott
For the GPHN
This election season is already shaping up to make history — or herstory. There are many issues facing voters — from inflation and food prices to immigration and healthcare. All are critical, and how they rank in importance ranges greatly depending on political party.
And then there’s the climate crisis. If climate change has your mind buzzing, this election will be critical on how the United States may lead (or not) on solving our most important crisis — one in which future generations are counting on all of us to get right.
Let’s consider our options.
When he was in office, Donald Trump implemented his “America First Energy Plan” to expand fossil fuel production and uplift the coal industry — two industries tied to climate change.
In 2021, the New York Times reported that more than 100 environmental rules were reversed under Trump. These included protections of wildlife, weakening limits on planet-warming carbon dioxide emissions from cars and trucks, and removing protections from wetlands. These were just a few. Trump’s Supreme Court appointments have issued rulings weakening the Environmental Protection Agency’s ability to limit pollution in air and water, as well as reducing greenhouse gases (GHG).
Would a second Trump term be any different? He has already promised to repeal regulations that are intended to cut GHG’s and limit the government’s ability to fight climate change. Project 2025 — billed as a policy “wish list” for the next Republican president — would literally kill climate legislation, putting our planet on a path of peril. Both Project 2025 and Trump’s running mate call for opening up America’s “energy resources.”
Speaking of running mates, what about JD Vance? Safe to say he is fully on board with Trump’s rallying cry of “drill, baby, drill.” (Vance also has also got some interesting — putting it politely — positions on same-sex marriage, guns and childless cat ladies.) Both Trump and Vance want to end the Inflation Reduction Act, a critical piece of bipartisan legislation considered one of the largest pro-climate bills ever.
Vance sponsored Senate Bill 2962, the Drive American Act, which repeals federal tax credits for electric vehicles and offers tax credits for gas-powered US made vehicles. The Front Range has suffered from dangerous ozone, pollution, and poor air quality. Encouraging tax credits to gas vehicles is not a solution for our bad air.
Now let’s consider Kamala Harris and Tim Walz.
Harris’ record on the climate, including going after polluters, began while she was district attorney and has continued throughout her political career. She created one of the first environmental justice units in the United States. While in the Senate, she was a co-sponsor of the Green New Deal. She delivered on a Greenhouse Reduction fund, which aids disadvantaged communities and helped champion the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA).
She has also been a stalwart advocate for disadvantaged communities, and a critic of policies that have created a history of environmental racism. At an appearance in Pennsylvania Harris was asked what the federal government can do to combat climate change. Her response, highlighting how climate change is a threat to us as a species, was on target. It’s no surprise her campaign has been endorsed by leading environmental organizations.
She also picked a running mate who is also a climate champion. Tim Walz was not always at the forefront of this crisis, however as governor of Minnesota has emerged as a leader and a true advocate for Mother Earth. He signed over 40 climate initiatives on Earth Day. Among many other pro-climate pieces of legislation, he signed the law requiring all power plants in his state to use 100 percent renewable energy by 2040. Walz, you could say, is a bundle of renewable energy.
November will be here soon. This campaign season is already a whirlwind. Do your research, act in the best interest of our planet — and please show up to vote.
Tracey MacDermott is an at-large board member of Greater Park Hill Community, Inc. She was trained as a Climate Reality Leader in 2017 and is the group’s Denver Metro Chapter Chair. She also chairs the Sustainability Committee for the Business and Professional Women of Colorado and the National Federation for Business and Professional Women. Email her at traceymacdermott@gmail.com