Democrats Tackle Climate Change
There were two related stories about climate change last month that require our attention. If they ever converge, it could be catastrophic.
The first story is about heat. July was the hottest month on Earth since scientists started keeping records. US cities notched over 2,000 distinct heat records while water temperatures off Miami exceeded 100 degrees and emergency rooms in Phoenix treated patients for third degree burns that resulted from falls onto the 180-degree pavement. Due to abnormally warm, dry conditions, Canadian wildfires have burned an unprecedented 33-million acres (the combined areas of Virginia, North and South Carolina). Although July stands out, June had already set the heat record for that month, this August will likely be one of the hottest Augusts ever, and 2023 is on pace to set a new single-year record for heat-related deaths in the US.
Drawing on at least four decades worth of evidence, research institutions and universities from around the world have concluded that the intensity and duration of the heatwave in the US would have been impossible without the contributions of human-caused climate change. Although programs to address climate change initiated by governments in Europe, Asia, and North America are starting to have positive effects, the scientific consensus is that we’re not moving fast enough to avert calamity.
This brings us to a second story. Former Vice President and Republican presidential hopeful Mike Pence chose July – again, the planet’s hottest month on record – to announce his intent, if elected, to put a halt to the Biden administration climate initiatives, despite the evident progress these programs have made. Additionally, while the nation sizzled, Pence announced his plan to eliminate the Environmental Protection Agency, the federal agency that leads our nation’s efforts to reduce the very greenhouse gas emissions that made the first news story possible.
Given everything we have long known about climate change – and everything we are now experiencing – Pence’s policies are intellectually indefensible and morally bankrupt. Yet they generally reflect mainstream Republican thinking. During his time in office, Donald Trump rolled back over 100 environmental regulations aimed at reducing planet-warming emissions and protecting our air and water. He continues to minimize and make patently false claims about the severity of the climate crisis. On Fox News, another presidential hopeful, Ron DeSantis, dismissed climate change as merely a pretext for “left wing stuff.” Republicans on the House Appropriations Committee introduced multiple bills this year aimed at cutting funds appropriated in the Inflation Reduction Act to address climate change.
In its 920-page manifesto (“Project 2025,” also known as Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise), the conservative Heritage Foundation laid out a playbook for the next Republican president. In addition to deconstructing all sectors of the federal government and amassing unprecedented power in the executive branch (i.e., the President), Project 2025 calls for eliminating the Department of Energy offices that are essential for large scale transition away from fossil fuels, gutting the EPA, and investing in a “whole-of-government unwinding” of Biden administration initiatives to address climate change.
It is a gross understatement to say that the Republican Party’s beliefs regarding the protection of our environment stand in stark contrast to those held by Democrats. The Democratic Party’s multilayer approach involves growing our economy and combating climate change at the same time by investing in solar and wind energy, upgrading our power grid using 21st century technologies, retrofitting buildings and homes to be more energy efficient. Right now across North Carolina, charging stations for electric vehicles are being built with funds from the Inflation Reduction Act to pave the way for more EV use.
It's difficult to pinpoint when or why the Republican Party – nominally a conservative party – gave up on conservation. The conservation movement owes its establishment to the Republican Party. One hundred and twenty years ago, Republic president Teddy Roosevelt championed the responsible use and preservation of natural resources. His policies emphasized the importance of balancing economic growth with conservation efforts to ensure a healthy and prosperous future for ourselves and for our children. Roosevelt’s visionary conservatism is tragically unrecognizable in the modern Republican Party.
It is the role of political parties to make clear to the American public what distinguishes its candidates from those of the rival party. There is typically some satisfaction, therefore, when party leaders can successfully draw clear distinctions. On this issue, however, this is not the case. Climate change is the existential crisis of our time. Democrats sincerely lament that such a gaping chasm separates Democratic and Republican platforms. Common dangers have historically brought Americans together. The threat of fascism united Americans in 1941. The threat of international terrorism united Americans in 2001.
We believe that ultimately Americans will unite around the threat of climate change. Our deepest hope is that when we do unite, it won’t be too late.
Sources:
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/01/heat-related-deaths-us-temperatures-heatwave
https://www.cnn.com/2023/07/26/politics/pence-economic-proposal/index.html
https://www.nytimes.com/2023/06/08/us/politics/wildfires-republicans-climate-change.html
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2023/aug/11/biden-climate-bill-inflation-reduction-act
