(Image curtesy of NextGen Climate)
There no question that climate change has become the subject of highly charged, intensely partisan fighting in recent years. That hasn’t always been the case—it used to be an issue of settled science and healthy, bipartisan conversations
It’s not really clear what changed or why. The influence of deep-pocketed oil interests on the Republican Party? The Oscar-winning warnings raised by former Democratic Vice President Al Gore’s Inconvenient Truth? Simple stubbornness along party lines?
It’s anyone’s guess.
But regardless of how we landed in this political situation, the evidence of man-made climate change continues to mount, and our planet continues to suffer the consequences.
Meanwhile, most of the current Republican candidates for President have doubled down on their refusal to act to combat climate change’s harmful effects—many even deny that it’s a problem in the first place. And though some Republicans have managed to admit that the climate is changing and that humans may play a role, those willing to do so definitively and wholeheartedly are a rare breed.
It’s time to end the politicization of our environment. Science isn’t a partisan question, and the ideological blame game draws energy and focus away from the real fights: protecting our planet, promoting energy independence, and creating American jobs. Let’s give Republicans an opportunity to back down from these dangerous stances—and let’s all get to work.
If, by 2030, we can get to the point where 50 percent of our energy comes from clean sources, we can win those fights. Meeting that benchmark will not only help to cut our greenhouse emissions—it would also help create over 1 million good-paying American jobs in the process. Just retrofitting our existing infrastructure alone will grow the national GDP by $145 billion dollars, and families will have up to $400 more in disposable income.
These are not Republican or Democratic programs; they’re simply American aspirations. This “50 by 30” goal is ambitious, but it’s absolutely achievable…provided our political leaders are willing to cooperate and act boldly, together. United, we can harness the same scientific know-how and technological prowess that helped to make us the country we are today. That effort could make the difference in saving the world.
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