Climate Corner: Finding common ground

Oct 12, 2024

Griffin Bradley

editorial@newsandsentinel.com

To say that America has become more polarized in recent years isn’t breaking any new ground. The “us versus them” mentality has seeped into our political zeitgeist, bringing with it division among family, friends, and peers. That tense conversation with your uncle at Thanksgiving or the Facebook spat between old high school friends? We’ve all seen them, and they have become all-too-frequent.

One of the topics at the crux of America’s political divide is climate change. All across the political spectrum, climate has become not just an issue that everyone has an opinion on, but also one with major electoral implications across the country. Both major political parties emphasize climate issues in their narrative, often with stark differences between the two on how to address the issues at hand, or whether there is an issue at all.

According to the 2023 Yale Climate Opinions poll, 72% of Americans believe climate change is happening, and 70% believe that it will harm the living ecosystem and future generations. Regardless of where Americans have fallen on the issue of climate change in recent years, one thing remains true: There is a clear threat imposed on every American from a worsening climate crisis.

Despite the clear belief among a majority of Americans that climate change is happening and is harmful, there are still questions.

“So, what? People can agree that there’s a problem, but not agree on a solution.”

Herein lies the problem we face as a nation. Every election season, we hear from those seeking office that only one side is right and the other is wrong, and there’s little to no room for agreement on core policy. And yet, from the very same polling that shows us people agree on the negative impacts of climate change, we also see that there is common ground for policy fixes. Yale polling shows strong support for policies to fund research for renewable energy (79%), generate renewable energy on public lands (79%), provide tax incentives for energy efficient vehicles and solar installations (74%), regulate CO2 as a pollutant (74%), and more.

In recent years, we have seen positive impacts from strong climate policy come out of Congress, despite constant rhetoric indicating this to be impossible. The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022 brought historic policy and investment to bear on climate issues in America. From this bill, we have seen investments in clean energy, clean transportation, and more that have set America on the right path to limit the impacts of climate change, while also sparking economic revitalization in communities across the country, putting money in the pockets of everyday Americans. Even while no Republican members of Congress voted for the IRA at its time of passage, there is now a strong contingent of Republicans supporting provisions of the law, seeing the tangible economic value of increased clean energy investment across the country. Oh, and the rest of America? Similar to the polling trends on policy support above, recent polling has found that 7 in 10 support the IRA.

As we inch our way closer to yet another “most important election of our lifetimes,” let’s remember a couple of key things as it relates to climate change and policy. In every state and federal district in America, we are seeing new environmental trends. From flooding to droughts, extreme heat to extreme cold, more frequent tornadoes and stronger hurricanes, the impacts of climate change are felt across the political divide. The drought felt across our region this year has impacted Democrats just as much as Republicans. For our neighbors to the south, Hurricane Helene uprooted the lives of members of both parties just the same.

If nothing else, please remember: No man-made political boundary stops nature.

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Griffin Bradley is a lifelong Wood County resident, graduate of West Virginia University (B.A., Political Science ’21; M.A., Political Science ’23), and a contributing author for Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action.