November 5th: Not a Fire Drill

“We know that the future of the earth must not be compromised.” — George H. W. Bush, 1990

It wasn’t always like this.

Once upon a time there was a Republican president named Richard Nixon. And while “environmentalist” wouldn’t be the first word that comes to mind with Nixon, in 1970 he declared the first Earth Day. He then went on to establish the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the Clean Air Act, which granted the EPA the mandate to regulate industrial emissions, giving it some teeth. In 1973, he signed the Endangered Species Act, whose list of endangered species has been called the “Magna Carta” of the environmental movement.

Just over 10 years later, conservative icon Ronald Reagan signed the U.N. Montreal Protocol, banning the use of ozone-depleting CFC chemicals, despite considerable industry pushback. Why? Economics. In a cost-benefit analysis, Reagan found that the cost of phasing out the chemicals was a lot lower than the cost of not doing so. By the end of his term, Reagan had signed into law 38 bills that protected millions of acres of forests, mountains, deserts and wetlands.

Continuing Reagan’s legacy, Republican president George H.W. Bush implemented the National Climate Assessment, a sweeping study documenting climate change and how the United States would be affected by it. He also signed Clean Air Act amendments, strengthening the way the country regulated several key pollutants.

“Bush knew there is no inherent conflict between environmental and economic progress, because the well-being of the nation requires both,” notes Fred Krupp, president of Environmental Defense Fund.

Oh the glory days. Back when our country mattered a little bit more than political partisanship and personal ambition.

With the exception of a few Republicans down ballot working hard to protect the environment, you’d be hard pressed to find a Republican politician anywhere who isn’t voting against policies that help fight climate change. In the past two years alone, right wing politicians have voted 31 times to eliminate common sense incentives that would help us transition to a clean energy economy.

Going forward, the Republican anti-environment agenda is no secret. A sweeping strategy called “Project 2025,” outlines a nearly 1,000 page “battle plan” that would put a multitude of environmental rules on the chopping block. The proposal calls for shredding regulations to curb greenhouse gas pollution and repealing tax credits and instant rebates that lower energy costs for families. The provision would remove protections from National Parks and roll back laws that prevent drilling public lands. It would eliminate plans to combat extreme weather and greatly curtail environmental justice efforts.

Project 2025 would cut the EPA budget and staff, limiting its authority to enforce what environmental regulations remain. It calls for the reversal of a 2009 EPA finding that says carbon dioxide emissions are a danger to public health. It would even dismantle parts of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), crippling our ability to assess the actual pace of climate change and its impact.

Leading this environmental train wreck is our fearless eco-destroyer, Donald Trump. Within five months of taking office in 2016, Trump withdrew the United States from the Paris Agreement. He then went on to dismantle or degrade over 100 environmental policies to fight climate change, putting all of us in serious, irreversible danger. The medical journal The Lancet estimated that in the year 2019 these policies led to 22,000 excess deaths from heart disease, asthma and lung cancer. If reelected, Trump has publicly promised to fulfill much of the Project 2025 agenda, thus reversing not only all of Biden’s environmental policies, but those of Nixon, Reagan and Bush as well.

What’s missing from all this environmental tomfoolery on the right is that climate change is an equal opportunity destroyer. One day there are fires in a blue state. The next, a hurricane hits a red state. Drought withers crops across many political districts. As Christian climate scientist Katherine Hayhoe points out, “A thermometer doesn’t give you a different answer depending on how you vote.”

Economically, climate change is predicted to be as expensive for everyone’s bottom line as it will be for our national GDP. In 2021, Moody Analytics estimated that the global economic toll of two degrees of warming would be $69 trillion. (Reagan must be rolling over in his grave right now.)

No matter which way you tend to vote, Joe Biden is our best and only choice for protecting the planet, and the economy. His track record in the first term is phenomenal. Pledging to cut CO2 emissions roughly in half by 2030, he’s managed to pass the historic Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), despite major push back from Republicans in congress.

In just the past two years, these policies have galvanized clean energy investment in the United States, giving us incentives to ramp up the green transition. They’re expected to create more than nine million jobs over the next decade, and revitalize U.S. manufacturing. The new recently implemented rebate program will make buying energy-efficient appliances much cheaper. (The average American household could pay $1,800 less a year for energy.)

These initiatives also include everything from replacing toxic lead pipes and curtailing power plant pollution to plugging methane leaks and ending ‘forever’ chemicals in tap water. Fighting climate change has been the hallmark of the Biden presidency.

It’s equally important to elect a District One candidate who will fight to protect natural resources on the East End, as well as the planet. This November, the pro-environment choices are Avlon and Schiavoni.

John Avlon, who is running for U.S. Congress, is strong on the environment, especially water quality protection. Incumbent Nicholas J. Lalota, on the other hand, has been given a lifetime environmental score of 14 percent by the League of Conservation Voters (basically an F-)

Tommy John Schiavoni is seeking to replace Fred W. Thiele, Jr. who is not seeking reelection to his seat on the New York State Assembly. Schiavoni has big environmental shoes to fill, but his green creds are solid.

(Current State Senator Anthony Palumbo and his Democratic challenger, former Suffolk County Legislator Sarah Anker, have a more evenly matched climate record as Palumbo has resisted falling in line with the Republican party and often voted for environmental legislation.)

With the general election just 18 weeks way, it’s time to get political. The Environmental Voter Project has identified 4.8 million voters who are focused on the environment, but aren’t yet registered. While phoning, postcard writing and canvassing will be important in the months before the election, the most important thing to do right now is give.

When you help fund organizations that advocate for environmental candidates, they zero in on which races are important, what demographics to target in those states, and the best way to reach them. Also, when you give to a candidate through environmental advocates, it lets the candidate know you’re not only supporting them, but that the environment is important to you.

A word about timing. The best time to give was yesterday, but right now would be an excellent time as well. Whatever you do, do not wait until the fall. Donations given closer to the election are harder for campaigns to use strategically.

I see supporting a pro-democracy, pro-environment candidate, or the organization that support them, as insurance against waking up on November 6th to the possibility of bad news and feeling like I just stood by and let it happen.

It’s time that everyone double down on fighting climate change and get out the green vote. The planet can’t survive another four years of Donald Trump and his cronies in congress.

More information:

LCV Victory Fund (lcvvictoryfund.org): Works to elect pro-environment, pro-democracy champions in swing states where margins are narrowest. Runs one of the nations largest paid canvassing programs, turning out voters at scale. (Check out the LCV National Scorecard to find out state legislators environmental grade.)

NRDC Action Fund (nrdcactionfund.org): Lobbies policymakers, works to defeat extremist Republicans at the ballot box and blunt the influence of big oil in Congress and state capitals. Donations go twice as far because they’re now matched.

Reality Check: A Brief History of Climate Change Denial With John Avlon: Three minute CNN segment about how long we’ve known about climate change (since the 1800s), how much the fossil fuel industry knew and the tactics they’ve used too hide it.