Do you want to stop climate change? Do you want the air you breathe and the water you drink to be cleaner – not dirtier? Do you want America to use more solar and wind energy and less coal, oil, and natural gas? Do you want to protect Nature and the animals, plants, and places you love? Do you want to make the world a better place for your children and grandchildren? I bet you answered “YES!!” to each of these questions. But even if you only said yes to one, your responsibility is the same:
You must vote to protect the environment this November.
And by and large, that means voting for Democrats, especially for President and Senate.
I’m stressing that the vote be for the DEMOCRAT, and not a specific candidate, because there are still almost four months until the election. While for the most part, the candidates for both parties are already determined, it’s always possible that someone will drop out of the race for any number of reasons. Regardless of who the candidate is, history shows that Democrats by and large have a much stronger record of supporting protecting the environment than Republicans do.
A 2020 Pew Research Center poll found that, overall more Americans see climate change as a priority, but “Democrats are much more concerned than Republicans.”
That concern has been reflected on Capitol Hill, where Democrats, under the leadership of President Joe Biden, enacted the largest environmental funding laws ever passed by the Congress. The $1.2 trillion infrastructure bill passed in 2021 included over $300 billion for public green investment. The Inflation Reduction Act — the most comprehensive climate legislation the U.S. has ever seen – – included $400 billion more to subsidize research, development and deployment of renewable energy. These investments have stimulated billions of dollars of investment for electric vehicles, charging stations, and batteries. They are also helping consumers pay to switch to clean energy technologies for their homes, like installing solar panels and replacing energy-wasting water heaters and furnaces with smarter electric options.
Biden and the Democrats have also shored up the Environmental Protection Agency, increased enforcement of environmental laws already on the books, protected more than 24 million acres of public lands across the country, and designated four new national monuments.
While protecting the environment is a core value of Democrats, Republican largely favor polluters and the fossil fuels industry. Donald Trump was about as bad on the environment as a president could be during the four years he was in office. He tried to dismantle the EPA, pulled the US out of international efforts to stop climate change, and repeatedly described climate change as a hoax. His administration rolled back regulations on toxic pollutants like mercury, lifted bans on oil and gas exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and refused to strengthen air quality standards that protect us from lung-damaging smog.
The most damaging action Trump took was to appoint three extremely conservative anti-environment US Supreme Court justices. Among their worst decisions was to repeal a law that had been on the books for 40 years that enabled the federal government to regulate the environment and protect public health, workplace safety and consumers.
Trump’s anti-environment judicial appointments were made possible because the Senate was also in Republican control. Right now, the Senate is made up of the same number of Democrats and Republicans. Since the Democrats hold the White House, and the Vice-President casts the tie-breaking vote, there is essentially a Democratic majority in the Senate. All that could change if you don’t vote in November to keep the White House and the Senate under Democratic control.
In 2024, the best way to protect the environment is by maintaining Democratic control of both the Presidency and the Senate.
There is only one way to do that.
Vote Democratic in November.
