Kamala Harris Had a Strong Track Record on the Environment
Kamala Harris has been a strong advocate of action to protect the environment, and she has not just talked the talk, she has walked the walk.
As California Attorney General, she sued big oil companies and other polluters, and investigated ExxonMobil for its lies.
EPA administrator Michael Regan travelled with her on a listening tour concerning lead pipes and lead toxicity from drinking contaminated water. As quoted in CNN:
“‘Whether on lead pipes or dispersing billions in climate funding, Regan said Harris is a leader who “doesn’t do surface – she digs in.’”
Also from CNN:
“Trump has vowed to push America decisively back to fossil fuels, promising to unwind Biden’s climate and clean energy legacy and pull America out of its global climate commitments.
“Given the stakes, climate advocates are eager to shine a light on the stark contrast between Trump and Harris.
“‘Harris wants to keep building this bright clean energy future, and Trump and Big Oil really do represent the worst of our past,’ said Lori Lodes, executive director of advocacy group Climate Power.”
From the New York Times:
“Last year, Ms. Harris flew to the United Nations global climate summit in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where she told world leaders that ‘the urgency of this moment is clear. The clock is no longer just ticking, it is banging. And we must make up for lost time.’”
From The Guardian:
“‘We are confident that she is ready to carry forward President Biden’s historic legacy and set a new high bar for climate ambition in America,’ said Lena Moffitt, executive director of Evergreen, one of a raft of green groups, including Sierra Club, League of Conservation Voters Action Fund and the NRDC Action Fund that have now endorsed the leading contender for the Democratic nomination.
“Harris, as vice-president, cast the tie-breaking vote to pass Joe Biden’s landmark legislation, the Inflation Reduction Act, which unleashes hundreds of billions of dollars into building clean energy and electric car capacity. Biden, in his Sunday letter confirming he will drop his bid to be re-elected president, called the bill ‘the most significant climate legislation in the history of the world’…
“‘Continued progress will not be possible without a fight,” Harris told assembled world leaders at the Cop28 talks. “Our action collectively, or worse, our inaction will impact billions of people for decades to come…Around the world, there are those who seek to slow or stop our progress. Leaders who deny climate science, delay climate action and spread misinformation. Corporations that greenwash their climate inaction and lobby for billions of dollars in fossil fuel subsidies.’”
Whether you skew left or right, there is only one party with any interest in tackling climate change, or it seems really any kind of environmental protection! Taking power from the EPA is a prime goal of the Republican party. The word “climate” is nowhere to be found in the Republican platform. It’s “drill baby drill” all the way.
And remember, the president gets more done if the congress wants to work with her and actually govern, not just grandstand. Down ballot races matter locally as well.
If you are a Republican or an environmentally literate conservative who cares about the future, please educate you friends. For now, the choice is clear if you don’t want to lose another four years as climate change and environmental degradation get worse. This current Rpeublican approach is not a reasoned argument about governmental power and the role of regulation, it is scorched earth, a complete denial of any action that the government might take to avert calamity.
Please, please vote and encourage others to vote as well! It really, really matters.