The Most Important Issue …

Posted on by under Economic issues, Election 2024, Environmental Issues, Global Issues, History, Political commentary

How often in political discussions do you hear someone say, “The #1 issue in my book is climate change and the environment”?  Right … not all that often.  You mostly hear about immigration, the economy, the cost of food & fuel, housing costs, jobs, etc – the things they can see and feel affecting their everyday lives.  But climate change really ought to be the #1 concern for us all, for if we don’t work diligently to repair the damage that’s already been done and prevent further damage, our grandchildren will die for lack of clean air and water, for lack of food.

I like what Dan Rather had to say on the topic yesterday …

Patriotism, Politics & Plastic

Trump 2.0 would be “game over for climate progress”

By Dan Rather

23 September 2024

On the list of “issues that matter to most,” climate change doesn’t usually rate as highly as it should. But issues significantly affected by climate change are certainly in the top 10: inflation, escalating food prices, rising utility and health care costs, and the lack of affordable housing. 

Let’s talk about why climate change doesn’t move the needle for most voters. One reason is that “climate change” is a monolith, encompassing everything from greenhouse gas emissions to deforestation to plastic accumulation in our oceans. The challenges of tackling the myriad causes and effects of climate change are daunting, and all require sacrifice. So people tend to push the issue to the side in favor of problems that seem easier to fix. 

For many people, the concept is also terrifying. Climate change has advanced far faster than most scientists predicted. There is real fear that it simply can’t be stopped. For the good of the 8 billion residents of Earth, we must find a way. And the United States, with all its wealth and innovation, should be leading that way. 

A CBS News poll did find that 70% of Americans support the government taking action to address climate change, while a Pew Research poll found that a majority of Americans believe that neither large corporations nor the federal government is doing enough to reduce the effects of climate change. 

All this was brought into focus today because we have a big problem with plastic. We are drowning in the stuff. Billions of pounds of plastic are floating in the oceans and scattered to the four corners of the globe. In case you didn’t know it, plastics are petroleum products. Yup, Big Oil is getting rich off plastic bottles too. 

For years, they’ve claimed all those plastic bottles are recyclable. Not so, says a lawsuit filed today by the state of California against ExxonMobil. The suit alleges that the oil giant has falsely promoted the idea that all plastic is recyclable, when in fact no more than 6% of U.S. plastics are recycled. California Attorney General Rob Bonta alleges that the oil company has engaged “in a decades-long campaign of deception that caused and exacerbated the global plastics pollution crisis.” Oil companies have played the long game with what is being called a public relations stunt that has allowed ExxonMobil and others to produce plastics with impunity.  

The two presidential candidates will likely have vastly different reactions to this suit as they offer polar opposite approaches to dealing with climate change. Though I am hard-pressed to call Donald Trump’s “an approach” — it’s more of a capitulation.

Trump calls climate change a hoax perpetrated by China. How can you have a plan to fight something you claim doesn’t exist? But it is worse than that. Rather than hedging, Trump has actively and destructively worked against climate action. 

During his presidency, he rolled back more than a hundred environmental rules and regulations. He also exited the Paris climate accords. When Trump took office, hundreds of scientists working for the federal government were forced out or silenced. The climate scientists who remained at the Environmental Protection Agency were told to dismantle their own work.

If you think a second Trump administration wouldn’t be any different, I’ve got some plastic for you to recycle. Project 2025 would effectively kill federal environment protections. One scientist warned that it would be “game over for climate progress.” 

The far-right policy playbook has called for the elimination of rules to protect clean air and water, the gutting of the EPA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and prioritizing fossil fuel production while getting rid of renewable energy programs.

Trump himself has promised to expand oil and gas drilling on his first day in office, perhaps to make good with the oil and gas execs he propositioned. Remember that back in April he promised them tax and regulatory favors in exchange for a billion dollars in campaign contributions. 

If Kamala Harris simply maintained the status quo and kept all of the Biden administration’s environmental policies in place, she would prevent 4 billion tons of greenhouse gas emissions being released by 2030.

Though she hasn’t made action on climate change a central pillar of her campaign, Harris has talked about it, calling it one of the “freedoms” she is fighting for. At the Democratic National Convention, Harris included “the freedom to breathe clean air and drink clean water and live free from the pollution that fuels the climate crisis” on her list. 

A new study from New York University suggests that framing climate action as patriotic can increase support among all voters. In an op-ed in today’s USA Today, actor and climate activist Robert Redford concurred. “We have a history, in this nation, of confronting threats to our freedom head-on, not denying they exist until it’s too late to act,” he wrote.

At the presidential debate, Harris answered the only question about the environment while Trump went on a nonsensical rant about Chinese car manufacturing and the mayor of Moscow’s wife.

Harris may not have time to break through with all voters on climate policy, but for young voters, the environment is a top-5 issue. For those young people who prioritize climate and the environment, 78% are extremely or very motivated to vote. In 2020 the youth vote helped Biden win the White House; since then, 8 million more Americans have turned 18. They could be the difference in this race too.

However the election turns out, the climate crisis, including the problem with plastic, isn’t going to improve without definitive action. 

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46 thoughts on “The Most Important Issue …”

  1. What most people don’t seem to realise is that climate change impacts all other topics. Climate change is a huge reason for immigration as well as the economy. How can a society make money when everything is flooded. Health care will get so much more expensive with more people suffering from heat related illnesses and if the oceans,rise housing will get a lot more troublesome than it is now. So it truly should be our number one topic.

    Liked by 1 person

    • You’re so right, my friend … climate change, or the effects of it, were the initial cause of the Arab Spring movement that led to the mass migration that led to Brexit on your side of the pond, and Donald Trump on our side. It is also contributing to food scarcity and water shortages in some parts of the globe and leading to wildfires and storms in others. EVERYTHING will ultimately be impacted by our ignorance of the environment, but we aren’t getting through to people. When I hear that Donald Trump plans to eliminate all environmental regulations if he’s elected, I am simply stunned … how utterly STUPID!!!! Sigh.

      Liked by 1 person

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  3. One has to just be plain stubborn to not admit that the climate is changing at a pretty rapid pace. The wildfire season in California where I live is getting longer and longer. That’s not a surprise due to the increasing temperatures and frequent droughts.

    Liked by 1 person

      • Unfortunately, there is a thread that a very right-wing party could get the most votes. Although their leader is beyond reason to elect and can has a tendency to create his own truth, he is far from a Trump character. I could not imagine someone like Trump could ever make it into politics over here… but then again, you never know…

        Liked by 1 person

        • It disturbs me to see the right wing gaining a foothold in Europe … it’s not a trend that is going to help bring about world peace, for sure. I hope you guys never do see a Trumpian character … a few have teetered around the edges, like Boris Johnson, Nigel Farage, Marine LePen, but so far none quite as horrible as Trump.

          Liked by 1 person

  7. I got serious about climate change when Al Gore stood up and said it is real and it will destroy us. His film alone impacted how I do things, and how I taught my children. I but no plastic anything of I can possibly help it. I buy only plastics that can be recycled. I repurpose or reuse products. Almost zero waste from my household goes to a landfill. I do not use A/C, or a clothes dryer or dishwasher. The worst appliance I own is my computer. I grow and can a LOT of my food, have a composter and use it. BUT, even with all I do, nothing will slow change down until everyone does the same. Most are simply too lazy, selfish or have zero time (they think) to make the necessary changes. And forget any corporations doing so until they are forced into it. Until we begin telling the deniers “I’m sorry dude, but you have zero voice in this until you get some education” and then JUST IGNORE them nothing will happen.

    Liked by 4 people

  8. Jill, we should not ever forget that in November 2016, Trump put a climate change naysayer on his transition team. We should also never forget that Trump announced he was taking the US out of the Paris Climate Change Accord joining two other nations as the only countries in the world not in it. Ironically, the Trump announcement came the day after Exxon Mobil shareholders voted to require management to report on climate change improvement actions. Two other companies, Occidental Petroleum and PPL had similar shareholder mandates voted in earlier in the month.

    Fortunately, Biden reversed Trump’s decision and the Breakthrough Energy Coalition was formed with major investors to invest in climate change and technology oriented solutions.

    Keith

    Liked by 4 people

  9. I think the challenge with climate change and environmental issues is that it’s become so highly politicized. Instead of regarding it as a human rights issue that impacts everyone, it’s viewed as an us vs them debate, and so much misinformation and conspiracy theories have made it an even more fraught issue.

    Sadly, the deniers will not wake up until it personally impacts them in a way when it’ll be too late to reverse lasting damage.

    Liked by 3 people

    • That’s probably part of it. Part, too, is that if people accept the verdict of the scientists, then they can no longer ignore the fact that they are part of the problem, thus they must make some lifestyle changes that they may find … inconvenient, like walking to the mailbox, recycling, turning the thermostat down in winter, and turning the lights off when they aren’t absolutely necessary. Just little things, but … peanuts make elephants as an old boss used to say!

      Liked by 1 person

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  12. Well of course Trump would say something dumb about climate change and blame China, which in itself is ‘a stupid’ since China is one of the main support beams for his buddies in Russia.
    The weirdness is trying to interface the idea that 70% of the US citizens feel something should be done and the consistently tight race in the polls for the presidential election……
    ‘That don’t add up,’🤔

    Liked by 3 people

  13. The poisoning of our food and water should be a top priority together with lifestyle changes. If we continue like we do now, the climate change won’t make much difference anymore. The generation after 1955 already has a shorter lifespan than their parents.

    Liked by 4 people

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