Pexels
By Brian Barth
If there is one thing Tuesday's elections reinforced, it is that city folks and country folks are firmly rooted on opposite sides of America's partisan divide. Farmers are traditionally a conservative bunch and they have flocked to President Trump, even when it is questionable that it's in their best interests to do so.
<p>The president's trade wars have caused the export value of certain crops, most notably soybeans (America's biggest ag export) to plummet. And his stance on immigration stands to have a profound impact on the cheap foreign labor that farmers rely on, which is already in short supply. These are but a couple of the issues that figured heavily in closely contested rural races.</p><p>Incumbents are listed first below, while the winner (where known at press time) is underlined.</p><h3>1. Heidi Heitkamp (D) vs. Kevin Cramer (R) – North Dakota Senate</h3><p>Heitkamp, the Democratic incumbent in this extremely rural state which exports huge quantities of soybeans to China, hoped that the farmers hurting from the President's trade war would help propel her to victory. If any farmers did jump ship, their numbers were not enough to overcome her opponent, a Trump protégé who has expressed support for the trade war.</p><h3>2. Jon Tester (D) vs Matt Rosendale (R) – Montana Senate</h3><p>This race remains too close to call—as of press time, the Democratic incumbent leads his opponent by a mere 1,000 votes. Tester is one of two organic farmers in Congress, so a loss here would be a major blow to the movement. If he wins, it will at least be in part due to his ability to connect with the state's many farmers and ranchers.</p><h3>3. John Faso (R) vs. Antonio Delgado (D) – New York 19th House District</h3><p>John Faso, a member of the House Ag Committee, which is heavily sympathetic to the interests of industrial agriculture, was always an odd fit with this Hudson Valley district, an area known as a mecca for organic farmers—one agricultural demographic that tilts heavily to the left.</p><h3>4. Steve King (R) vs. J.D. Scholten (D) – Iowa 4th House District</h3><p>Scholten's longshot campaign to defeat the notoriously racist incumbent leaned heavily on his family's deep farming roots in the area. He traveled the countryside in a used Winnebago converted into a campaign bus, often stopping at farms and grain elevators to ask for farmers' support. This transformed the race from a sure win for King—the district is extremely conservative—into a nail-biter. In the end, however, King squeaked out a victory.</p><h3>5. Jeff Denham (R) vs. Josh Harder (D) – California 10th House District</h3><p>This race remains too close to call—as of press time, the Republican incumbent leads his opponent by less than 1,500 votes. This Central Valley district is known as a haven of corporate agriculture, which typically tilts right. But it is also home to a large Hispanic population, which supplies the labor force for the farms. Whether the left-leaning immigrant community will tip the scales for the Democrat remains to be seen.</p><p> <em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="http://modernfarmer.com/2018/11/five-midterm-races-where-farming-was-a-factor/" target="_blank">Modern Farmer</a>.</em><em></em></p>
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EcoWatch Daily Newsletter
Voters casting their ballots at a polling station at Noonday Baptist Church, Marietta, Georgia Jessica McGowan / Getty Images
By Rhea Suh
The American people stood up to President Trump on Tuesday, rejecting his reckless assault on the environment and public health. We've empowered the U.S. House of Representatives to stand up, put a check on his attacks on our children's future, and hold him to account for putting polluter profits first and putting the rest of us at risk. Now it's on leaders from both parties to step up and carry out the people's will.
<p>Tuesday's elections were <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2018/11/07/election-results-america-rejects-trump-protects-democracy-popular-vote-column/1913892002/" target="_blank">a rebuke, first and foremost, of a divisive and mendacious presidency</a> and the ways it has shaken public confidence in the institutions that sustain our democracy. But also, across the country, voters elected candidates who ran on commonsense measures that reflect core American values about protecting our air, water, wildlife, and lands, and leaving our children a livable world.</p><p>In coastal communities nationwide, voters rallied to defend healthy oceans and all the marine life they support from the hazard and harm of offshore drilling. Voters elected a bevy of House candidates—including Florida Republicans <a href="https://francisrooney.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=300" target="_blank">Francis Rooney</a> and <a href="https://rutherford.house.gov/media/press-releases/rep-rutherford-statement-opposing-drilling-coast-florida" target="_blank">John Rutherford</a> and California Democrats <a href="http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/news/elections/sd-me-levin-harkey-20181106-story.html" target="_blank">Mike Levin</a> and Jared Huffman—who took a stand against offshore drilling and made protecting ocean waters, marine life and coastal communities a central focus of their campaigns. <a href="https://www.postandcourier.com/politics/joe-cunningham-takes-sc-st-congressional-district-race-over-republican/article_bd90a97e-e203-11e8-ab11-5f406678bef9.html" target="_blank">Joe Cunningham</a> became the first Democrat since 1981 to win the House seat from South Carolina's 1st District, where he campaigned against oil and gas drilling off the state's coast. And Florida voters passed a measure to ban offshore drilling in state waters.</p><p>Across the nation's heartland, voters elected new governors who vowed to clean up their states and advance the vital fight against <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/">climate change</a>. In Michigan, <a href="https://www.politico.com/story/2018/11/06/gretchen-whitmer-vs-bill-schuette-michigan-governor-race-results-2018-963521" target="_blank">Gretchen Whitmer</a> will get the chance to make good on her promise to deal in a comprehensive way with the drinking water problems still plaguing the citizens of Flint and to improve the quality of the state's water supply. In neighboring Illinois, <a href="https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/politics/elections/ct-met-illinois-governors-race-bruce-rauner-jb-pritzker-20181106-story.html" target="_blank">J.B. Pritzker </a>has pledged to shift into high gear the state's transition toward clean, homegrown, renewable energy. And in Wisconsin, <a href="https://gizmodo.com/wisconsin-gov-scott-walker-loses-election-to-democrat-1830274969" target="_blank">Tony Evers</a> ran hard against an irresponsible plan to exempt the manufacturing giant Foxconn from critical state environmental regulations, a move that would have given the company's new factory outside Kenosha carte blanche to pollute the Badger State's waters and lands.</p><p><span></span>In Nevada, voters sent Steve Sisolak to the governor's mansion. Sisolak has been a strong proponent of a measure Nevada voters approved to require power companies to produce at least 50 percent of the state's electricity from wind, solar, or other renewable sources by 2030.</p><p>Voters elected staunchly pro-environment governors across the West as well: Michelle Lujan Grisham in New Mexico; Kate Brown in Oregon; Gavin Newsom in California; and, in Colorado, Jared Polis, the first openly gay American to be elected a state governor.</p><p>One thing that didn't change on Tuesday: The fossil fuel industry is still spending big to protect its profits at the expense of our environment and health. Led by out-of-state oil companies like BP and Koch Industries, the<a href="https://www.pdc.wa.gov/browse/campaign-explorer/committee?filer_id=NO1631%20507&election_year=2018" target="_blank"> industry spent $30 million to defeat </a>a ballot question on whether Washington State should levy the first fees in the nation against carbon dioxide emissions. Arizona's largest power company, Arizona Public Service Co., <a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/politics/elections/2018/10/16/arizona-clean-energy-ballot-measure-proposition-127-most-expensive-state-history/1660198002/" target="_blank">spent nearly $22 million to beat back a ballot measure</a> calling for that state to get at least half of its electricity from solar and other renewable sources by 2030. And <a href="https://www.bizjournals.com/denver/news/2018/10/23/colorado-oil-well-setback-measure-poll.html" target="_blank">big oil laid out a staggering $41 million to turn back</a> a measure in Colorado to protect homes and schools from the hazard and harm of fracking. An initiative on the ballot there would have banned oil and gas drilling within 2,500 feet of either. With the measure's defeat, the industry remains free to drill as close as 500 feet from a home and 1,000 feet from a school. </p><p>In the U.S. Senate, where anti-environmentalists added to their majority, our fight to stand up to fossil fuel millions got harder. We won't sugarcoat that. But we'll fight harder too.</p><p>That means calling on key House committees to get to the bottom of Trump's relentless attacks on clean air and water and healthy wildlife and lands. We'll press to restore accountability and funding to agencies like the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, so they have the tools they need to do the job of protecting our environment and health. And, where we can, we'll create new alliances to help advance a cleaner, safer, and more prosperous future for our children.</p><p>The new landscape creates the opportunity for bipartisan cooperation. In a divided Congress, that's the only way for either party to make progress on issues of importance to the country. And voters from both parties support commonsense policies that protect clean air and water, safeguard our oceans and coastal communities, and fight the growing dangers of climate change. Nearly 6 in 10 Americans—59 percent—say the federal government should do more to reduce global warming, according to an Oct. 25–28 poll taken across 69 competitive congressional districts by the Washington Post and George Mason University.</p><p>High participation by women appears to have played an outsize role in Tuesday's elections, and the success of female candidates will change the face of Congress. To cite one example among dozens: <a href="https://abigailspanberger.com/" target="_blank">Abigail Spanberger</a>, a former CIA operative who understands the link between climate action and national security, called for initiatives to boost investment in clean, renewable power and improve air and water quality. On Tuesday, she became <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Virginia%27s_7th_Congressional_District_election,_2018" target="_blank">the first Democrat in 47 years</a> to be sent to Congress from Virginia's 7th District.</p><p>Polls tell us that <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/231530/global-warming-concern-steady-despite-partisan-shifts.aspx" target="_blank">women, as a group, are more concerned about climate change</a> than men. Similarly, <a href="https://news.gallup.com/poll/234314/global-warming-age-gap-younger-americans-worried.aspx" target="_blank">70 percent of voting-age Americans 34 or younger understand the growing dangers of climate change</a>, compared with 56 percent of voters 56 and older. Exit polling suggests that a new generation of Americans 29 and under cast 13 percent of the votes on Tuesday, up from 11 percent in the 2014 midterm elections. </p><p>Ultimately, that's what this is all about. These voters are our future, and they're standing up to demand real change. They're standing up to Trump's reckless assault on our environment and health. They're standing up for public waters and lands. They're standing up to cut fossil fuel pollution today so our children don't inherit climate catastrophe tomorrow. </p><p>On Tuesday, the country stood up with them. We empowered the House for change. That's the House mandate, and that's the way forward, for our families, our communities and our nation. </p>
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5 Key Environmental Ballot Measures to Track at Your Election Watch Party Tonight
06 November 2018
Politics
Erik (HASH) Hersman / Flickr / CC BY 2.0
Today is election day in the U.S., which means that if you are a U.S. voter whose state doesn't have early voting, today is the day to head to the polls and make your voice heard.
<p>A lot of the races in this year's midterm election have big consequences for the environment. The <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/home" target="_blank">Sierra Club</a> has even assembled a list of 10 "<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/sierra-club-fossil-fools-elections-2608134355.html" target="_self">Fossil Fools</a>" to boot from office because they consistently prioritize <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fossil-fuels" target="_blank">fossil fuel</a> interests over the environment and public health. </p><p>But environmental voting isn't just about picking certain candidates over others. A number of states are also considering important ballot measures that give voters a direct say on environmental issues, from protecting <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/endangered-species" target="_self">endangered species</a> to promoting <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy/" target="_self">renewable energy</a>. Here are five to keep track of as you watch the results come in tonight. <strong></strong></p><p><strong>1. Initiative 1631, Washington State</strong></p><p>If Washington voters approve <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Washington_Initiative_1631,_Carbon_Emissions_Fee_Measure_(2018)" target="_blank">I-1631</a> today, they would make their state the first in the nation to impose a fee on carbon emissions, as <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/washington-carbon-tax-big-oil-2616808725.html" target="_self">EcoWatch has pointed out previously</a>. The initiative would charge $15 per metric ton of carbon emissions beginning in 2020 and raise the fee by $2 every year until the state meets its 2035 emissions goals. The funds would be directed towards clean energy and transit, and cleaning up polluted communities. </p><p>The fossil fuel industry has outspent the "Yes" campaign two-to-one, but initiative has some very prominent supporters.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="6bbca" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2L1XAE1576663025"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1058728756393713665" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Climate change may be the toughest problem humanity has ever faced — but it's solvable. Washington has a unique opp… https://t.co/20OkwrU9dL</div> — Bill Gates (@Bill Gates)<a href="https://twitter.com/BillGates/statuses/1058728756393713665">1541255580.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p><strong>2. Proposition 112, Colorado</strong><br></p><p>In an attempt to limit risks from <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/fracking/" target="_self">fracking</a>, <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Colorado_Proposition_112,_Minimum_Distance_Requirements_for_New_Oil,_Gas,_and_Fracking_Projects_Initiative_(2018)" target="_blank">Proposition 112</a> would ban oil and gas development within 2,500 feet of homes, buildings, water sources or other sensitive areas. If it succeeds, it could actually be a major blow to Colorado's growing shale industry, as <a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2018/11/05/business/colorado-oil-proposition-112/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> explained:</p><blockquote>If approved, the ballot question would eliminate future drilling locations in a chunk of the surging Denver-Julesburg, or DJ, basin in Colorado, one of the nation's largest oil-producing states. Much of the Colorado land held by oil companies like Anadarko Petroleum (<a href="https://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=APC" target="_blank">APC</a>) and Noble Energy (<a href="https://money.cnn.com/quote/quote.html?symb=NBL" target="_blank">NBL</a>) would suddenly be off limits to new drilling.</blockquote><p>Not surprisingly, the oil and gas industry is also spending hard to stop this measure, to the tune of more than $30 million. But supporters remain defiant.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="f469a" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="2N1KLB1576663025"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1059574704812355585" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">If Prop. 112 passes in #Colorado, it will show that PEOPLE CAN stand up to #oilandgas companies and win.
That sta… https://t.co/8mQdz1RZ3u</div> — WildEarth Guardians' Climate and Energy Program (@WildEarth Guardians' Climate and Energy Program)<a href="https://twitter.com/ClimateWest/statuses/1059574704812355585">1541457270.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p><strong>3. Proposition 127, Arizona</strong><br></p><p><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Arizona_Proposition_127,_Renewable_Energy_Standards_Initiative_(2018)" target="_blank">Proposition 127</a> would require Arizona utilities to get 50 percent of their energy from renewable sources by 2030. Currently, as <a href="https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2018/11/states-will-vote-on-these-energy-and-environment-issues-in-midterm-elections/" target="_blank">Ars Technica pointed out</a>, the state plans to get 15 percent of its energy from renewable sources by 2025, so the proposition would majorly scale up the state's renewable energy commitment. </p><p>Both opponents and supporters of the measure have spent a lot to win the day, making it the most expensive ballot measure in Arizona history. </p><p>The <a href="https://www.ucsusa.org/?_ga=2.123413192.216361842.1541507066-269590339.1541507066#.W-GIjGj7Trc" target="_blank">Union of Concerned Scientists</a> <a href="https://blog.ucsusa.org/jeff-deyette/arizona-vote-yes-on-prop-127?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=tw" target="_blank">came out strongly in support</a> of the measure, arguing that it would save utility customers money, improve public health by reducing air pollution, create jobs and reduce greenhouse gas emissions, among other benefits. </p><p><em>The Good Place</em>'s Ted Danson also lent his support.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="8a747" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="8VVUER1576663025"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1058887317962674176" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">.@TedDanson knows it’s forking important to vote #YESon127 to clean up our energy and our politics! https://t.co/fWaKHqDE3M</div> — Clean Energy for a Healthy Arizona (@Clean Energy for a Healthy Arizona)<a href="https://twitter.com/CleanHealthyAZ/statuses/1058887317962674176">1541293384.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p><strong>4. Amendment 9, Florida</strong><br></p><p>Florida's <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Florida_Amendment_9,_Ban_Offshore_Oil_and_Gas_Drilling_and_Ban_Vaping_in_Enclosed_Indoor_Workplaces_Amendment_(2018)" target="_blank">Amendment 9</a> tries to kill two birds with one stone. It would both ban <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/offshore-oil-drilling" target="_self">offshore oil drilling</a> on land beneath state waters and ban vaping in indoor spaces. </p><p>This odd combination occurred because Florida's Constitution Revision Commission, which meets every 20 years to suggest amendments to the state's constitution, has the right to bundle changes on the ballot. They argued that combining the two made sense because they were both environmental issues and because it would save space on the ballot, <a href="https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2018/11/5/18055844/amendment-9-florida-vaping-offshore-drilling" target="_blank">Vox explained</a>. </p><p>But it might backfire. Several local newspapers expressed concerns about forcing voters to say yes or no to two different things at once in their endorsements. Others see it as a win-win.</p><p>"The issues together send a message of clean air, clean water," Constitution Revision Commission member Lisa Carlton, who wrote the pre-bundled vaping measure, told <a href="https://www.motherjones.com/environment/2018/10/this-single-ballot-measure-could-ban-both-fossil-fuels-and-vaping/" target="_blank">Grist</a>. "I cannot think of anything more important than protecting our near shores in Florida."</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><p><strong>5. Ballot Measure 1, Alaska</strong><br></p><p><a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Alaska_Ballot_Measure_1,_Salmon_Habitat_Protections_and_Permits_Initiative_(2018)" target="_blank">Ballot Measure 1</a> would impose new requirements and a new permitting process for any developments that would impact bodies of water that <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/salmon" target="_self">salmon</a> and other fish call home. It's a response to the controversial <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-suspends-pebble-mine-2529694490.html" target="_self">Pebble Gold Mine</a>, a project that was so threatening to the local watershed that even <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/donald-trump" target="_self">Trump'</a>s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) put its efforts to approve it on hold. </p><p>Oil and gas interests, as well as 12 of Alaska's Native Regional Corporations, say that existing protections for salmon are sufficient and the measure would hurt the economy, Ars Technica reported. <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife" target="_self">Wildlife</a> groups like the <a href="https://alaskaconservation.org/" target="_blank">Alaska Conservation Foundation</a> are supporting it.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="2136c" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="1A96AV1576663026"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1059607043752058880" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">We are voting Yes on 1 because we can't bear to think about an Alaska without wild salmon! Get the Facts on Ballot… https://t.co/206ezzlNLl</div> — Alaska Conservation Foundation (@Alaska Conservation Foundation)<a href="https://twitter.com/AKConservation/statuses/1059607043752058880">1541464980.0</a></blockquote></div>
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5 Ways U.S. Companies, From Ride Shares to Dating Apps, Are Helping Americans Vote
05 November 2018
Popular
Juj Winn / Getty Images
Tomorrow, America heads to the polls for the midterm elections, and, as EcoWatch has pointed out, these are very important elections for the environment, giving voters a chance to fight back against the Trump administration's agenda of ignoring climate change and opening public lands to drilling and mining.
<p>This election is so important, in fact, that eco-friendly outdoor brand Patagonia <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/patagonia-ceo-politics-2613614515.html" target="_self">has endorsed two candidates</a>, becoming likely the first U.S. company to ever do so. Patagonia endorsed Democratic Senate candidate Jon Tester in Montana and Democratic Senate candidate Jacky Rosen in Nevada because of their commitments to protecting public lands, but it is also working to encourage voting everywhere. The company is giving its employees the day off, and closing its retail stores. </p><p>"[V]oting is more important than shopping," Patagonia Director of Global Communications and Public Relations Corley Kenna told <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/companies-try-to-get-out-the-vote-as-election-day-approaches/" target="_blank">CBS</a>. "Business has an important responsibility to help uphold democracy. The least we can do is make sure the employees of our company have that opportunity to exercise that right."</p><p>Patagonia isn't the only private company stepping up this election to help the American public make its voice heard. Here are five major ways that some of your favorite brands are helping to get out the vote tomorrow.</p><p><strong>1. Voting Time</strong></p><p><strong></strong>Patagonia is one of the many companies that have signed on to the <a href="http://www.maketimetovote.org/" target="_blank">Time to Vote</a> campaign, which is an initiative that was <a href="http://www.maketimetovote.org/press-release" target="_blank">launched by American CEOs in September</a> to raise awareness about things employers can do to make it easier for their employees to vote. Those actions include offering paid time off, making Election Day meeting-free or spreading info about mail-in or early voting. Participants include The Gap, PayPal and Walmart. </p><p>Another group of more than 300 companies, including Spotify, Salon and Survey Monkey, has spearheaded a similar initiative called <a href="http://takeoffelectionday.com/" target="_blank">Take Off Election Day</a>, promising to give their employees time off to vote.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="f6f48" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="PWEFT41576663318"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="787777328004812800" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">300+ companies (comprising an estimated 50,000+ employees) are now taking off election day.
What's your excuse?
https://t.co/Xhx5K4c06b</div> — Take Off ElectionDay (@Take Off ElectionDay)<a href="https://twitter.com/FreeElectionDay/statuses/787777328004812800">1476655725.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p><strong>2. </strong><strong>The Ride to Vote</strong></p><p><strong></strong>Rideshare company Lyft <a href="https://blog.lyft.com/posts/2018/8/22/get-out-the-vote" target="_blank">launched a campaign</a> this summer called the "Ride to Vote." It explained its motivation in a blog post announcing its efforts:<br></p><blockquote> It is estimated that over 15 million people were registered but didn't vote in 2016 because of transportation issues. That's why we're committed to providing 50% off rides across the country, and free rides to underserved communities that face significant obstacles to transportation.</blockquote><p>Not to be outdone, in October Uber <a href="https://www.uber.com/newsroom/drivethevote/" target="_blank">announced the steps</a> it would take to help Americans vote, including adding a tool to the app to help voters find and book a ride to their polling place, offering free rides and providing Uber users with voter registration resources.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="eee31" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3LZ01V1576663318"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1047900430494126080" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">You drive the vote, we’ll get you to the polls. Learn more about how we’re helping people show up on Election Day. https://t.co/ftLaWCEhZ7</div> — Uber (@Uber)<a href="https://twitter.com/Uber/statuses/1047900430494126080">1538673906.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p><strong>3. Election Dates</strong></p><p><strong></strong>The dating app Bumble came up with a unique way to encourage people to vote. The app, which has 41 million users worldwide, allows users to display their intention to vote on their profile. If anyone is looking for a civic-minded partner, Bumble just made that easier. The app will also send notifications reminding users to follow-through on their commitment.<br></p><p>"We have a real opportunity around election season to really be an advocate for voter registration," Bumble Chief Operating Officer Sarah Jones Simmer told CBS.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="b41a2" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="LASJ9S1576663318"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1049003290904682497" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">We’ve added a new badge option to your Bumble profile, allowing you to show your pride in civic engagement. Regardl… https://t.co/0fbW7QITHW</div> — Bumble (@Bumble)<a href="https://twitter.com/bumble/statuses/1049003290904682497">1538936848.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p><strong>4. </strong><strong>Registration Applications</strong></p><p><strong></strong>Bumble isn't the only app encouraging its users to vote. Fellow dating app Tinder teamed up with Rock the Vote to encourage voter turnout, Snapchat registered more than 400,000 users and music app Pandora shared an ad on National Registration Day in which the artist Common encouraged users to register and find their polling place.<br></p><p>"It's your chance to make sure your voice is heard," Common said in the ad, according to CBS. "Tap the link on your screen now to make sure these midterms are on your terms."</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c41afbc1723f9baa5254f309c1ed1d0a"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/qCMfwQz3heQ?rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
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<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qCMfwQz3heQ" target="_blank">www.youtube.com</a>
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</p><p><strong>5. Fighting Voter Suppression</strong></p><p>Twitter and Facebook are in hot water following the 2016 election. There are concerns that the spread of false news on the popular social media platforms might have influenced the results, as <a href="https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2018/11/3/18058628/facebook-twitter-midterm-elections-voter-suppression" target="_blank">Vox explained</a>.<br></p><p>That is likely why they are eager to redeem themselves this time around as they attempt to delete false or misleading posts discouraging people from voting. As of Friday, Twitter had deleted more than 10,000 automatic accounts designed to keep people away from the polls. Both services are getting rid of posts that spread misinformation about how to mail in a ballot, alter pictures to make lines at polling places look longer than they are and say that it is possible to vote online, among other lies.</p><p>One rumor Twitter removed said that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) would patrol polling sites checking for citizenship, a clear attempt to discourage immigrants who can vote from showing up. ICE eventually clarified on Twitter that it did not patrol polling places.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="2cdaa" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="PTIZR11576663318"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1055074126451392513" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">ICE does not patrol or conduct enforcement operations at polling locations. Any flyers or advertisements claiming o… https://t.co/wAQuAp9pYN</div> — ICE (@ICE)<a href="https://twitter.com/ICEgov/statuses/1055074126451392513">1540384248.0</a></blockquote></div>
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Climate Change Is Affecting Farmers. We Can Fight It at the Ballot Box
01 November 2018
Insights + Opinion
Drought damage on the Fresno Harlen Ranch in Fresno, CA in 2014. USDA photo by Cynthia Mendoza
By John Russell
Sometimes climate change can feel like someone else's problem—we read about stronger hurricanes hitting our coasts or wildfires raging across California and think 'well, it's a good thing that I live here and not there.' The truth is, climate change is everyone's problem, and it's already impacting Ohio. But we have a way to fight it.
<p>I live in Central Ohio, where I've been farming my land for five years now. In that time, I've learned that the weather can be your best friend or your worst enemy. The problem right now is that weather is becoming more and more extreme. Once-a-century weather events are now happening every few years. Right now, one part of our state is <a href="https://www.google.com/search?q=ohio+drought&rlz=1C1OKWM_enUS796US796&source=lnms&tbm=nws&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjQvM-du7bdAhUCwVkKHYnlAgAQ_AUICigB&biw=1440&bih=758" target="_blank">in drought</a> while other parts of our state <a href="https://www.wtrf.com/weather/flood-concerns-are-raising-across-ohio-valley/1431994296" target="_blank">flood</a>. These events are becoming <a href="https://www.cleveland.com/weather/blog/index.ssf/2017/10/drought_expands_across_ohio_mo.html" target="_blank">increasingly common</a>.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODc4NjY4Ni9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYyMDc5NzM2Nn0.EoKt-Lv8VYMwQWT8ftKaqPdTmBQSHihH1_laV2l3nHY/img.png?width=980" id="73a0e" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="aa99637c4f3ace0caa85f29c17283507" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">John Russell</small></p><p>All of that makes life a lot harder for me and other farmers like me. On my farm, we mainly grow produce. With too much rain, our crops suffer. Erratic weather patterns caused by a warming climate make <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/extreme-weather">extreme weather events</a> more likely. And that's not good news when your income depends on the weather.<br></p><p> I'm not alone. I know a lot of farmers who've struggled to manage in the face of extreme weather. Costs go up and profits fall. Hiring employees becomes a luxury. Every bill gets that much harder to pay. Two-thirds of the people in this country can't afford a $400 emergency expense despite working harder than ever. The richest country in the world can do better.<u></u><u></u></p><p> That's why we need to act now—before it's too late. Rural areas might struggle at times, but they're a great place to call home and they deserve the chance to thrive. What is the future of small-town America if making a living working the land becomes impossible?<u></u><u></u></p><p> Big problems require big solutions. We need to act now and choose leaders who will support solutions that match the scale of the climate challenge—solutions like taxing polluters and refunding the money directly to citizens. Now is our chance to rise to the occasion, as Americans always have, and confront the generational challenge of climate change. And if our leaders will not rise to meet that challenge, then we must stand up to lead ourselves.<u></u><u></u></p><p> There are a lot of complex and technical solutions to climate change, but the most powerful solution is simple—it's voting. Our current leaders are pretending that this problem will go away. But it won't until we get involved in our political system and make our voices heard. That's why my friends and I are supporting leaders who will act on climate change—and you should too.<strong><em><u></u><u></u></em></strong></p><p>In the video below talks about the impact of unpredictable weather patterns on his crops.</p><h2>Watch:</h2><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
<span style="display:block;position:relative;padding-top:56.25%;" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="75328538cd207c1da8187f66da3f330f"><iframe type="lazy-iframe" data-runner-src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/C00bC7A_OGo?start=11&rel=0" width="100%" height="auto" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" style="position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;"></iframe></span>
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">John Russell: I'm A Climate Voter</small>
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">
<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C00bC7A_OGo&t=11s" target="_blank">www.youtube.com</a>
</small>
</p><p><em>John Russell </em><em>is a farmer from Galena, Ohio. To learn more about John and other young voters supporting climate leaders, <a href="https://www.beaclimatevoter.org/" target="_blank">click here</a>.</em><br></p>
From Your Site Articles
- 1,200+ U.S. Officials and Candidates Have Rejected Fossil Fuel Cash ›
- This Is Why You Should Be a #ClimateVoter on Nov. 6 ›
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Anacortes Refinery (Tesoro), on the north end of March Point southeast of Anacortes, Washington. Walter Siegmund / CC BY-SA 3.0
If voters approve Initiative 1631 on Nov. 6, Washington state will take a significant step in climate action by becoming the first state in the nation to enact a fee on carbon emissions. That is, unless Big Oil can stop it.
The U.S. oil industry has pumped a record $30 million to stop the carbon tax, which environmentalists have tried to enact for years, Reuters reported, citing state data. Meanwhile, proponents—including green groups and climate activist billionaires Bill Gates, Michael Bloomberg, Tom Steyer and Laurene Powell Jobs, the widow of Apple founder Steve Jobs—have spent $15.2 million.
<p>"With Big Oil spending $30 million, that makes it a real fight," Bill Holland, state policy director for the <a href="https://www.lcv.org/" target="_blank">League of Conservation Voters</a>, told Reuters. "It has been a frightening amount of money."</p><p>Washington ranks fifth in the nation in crude oil refining capacity for making gasoline and other petroleum products, according to the <a href="https://www.eia.gov/state/?sid=WA" target="_blank">U.S. Energy Information Administration</a>.</p><p>Initiative 1631 imposes a starting fee of $15 per metric ton on carbon emissions, beginning in 2020. This fee rises $2 every year until the state hits its 2035 emissions reductions goals and is on track to meet its 2050 goals. If passed, the tax is expected to generate $2.3 billion in revenue for green infrastructure, clean transportation and help communities most impacted by pollution. </p><p>A recent statewide <a href="https://crosscut.com/sites/default/files/files/2018_statewide_crosscut_elway_poll.pdf" target="_blank">Crosscut/Elway Poll</a> among registered voters shows 50 percent approval of the measure, 36 percent opposed and 14 percent undecided. <span></span></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="4bb67" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="TNB8HD1576662658"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1055554283662401536" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">This.👇 Big Oil is spending big 💰 fighting Washington's historic I-1631—which would price carbon & use the funds for… https://t.co/Oe7nATH56k</div> — 350 dot org (@350 dot org)<a href="https://twitter.com/350/statuses/1055554283662401536">1540498727.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>The opposition is led by the Western States Petroleum Association, a trade organization that has raised $31.2 million from energy companies and business groups for the "<a href="https://votenoon1631.com/" target="_blank">No on 1631</a>" campaign—the most money ever spent in Washington state history to defeat a ballot initiative. </p><p>BP America contributed the most with $11.5 million, followed by $7.2 million from Phillips 66 and Andeavor with $4.4 million, Reuters said. The three energy companies have refineries in the state. American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers and Valero Energy Corporation also donated funds. </p><p>The money has been spent on digital ads, flyers, mailers and television ads aired during this month's Major League Baseball World Series. Opponents say the tax will "be paid by Washington families and small businesses."</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="11639" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="FN0ZTI1576662658"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1057619197583335424" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">A Spanish-language flyer mailed by the No on 1631 campaign urges voters to “join our coalition and more than a hund… https://t.co/Q8olCZ9IOP</div> — The Seattle Times (@The Seattle Times)<a href="https://twitter.com/seattletimes/statuses/1057619197583335424">1540991040.0</a></blockquote></div>
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Caleb George / Unsplash
By Doug Norlen
This month the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a startling report, which finds that severe impacts of climate change are happening much sooner than previously expected, and that countries must take far more aggressive actions to avoid the most catastrophic impacts. The report finds that the burning of fossil fuels must be curbed sharply.
<p>The harmful role Wall Street banks play in propping up fossil projects around the world is increasingly known. Yet there is much less awareness of the role major cities play when they place billions of dollars of their public funds into these same Wall Street banks. According to L.A. city records, as of July 2018, Los Angeles had banking and/or investment relationships with several Wall Street banks, many of which are notorious for their financing of fossil fuel and human rights debacles around the world, including JP Morgan Chase, Citi, Bank of America and Wells Fargo. </p><p>According to <a href="https://www.ran.org/bankingonclimatechange2018/" target="_blank">Banking on Climate Change</a>, a fossil fuel finance report card, between 2015 and 2017 these Wall Street banks collectively provided over $50 billion in financing for <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/tar-sands">tar sands</a>, ultra-deep <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/offshore-oil-drilling">water drilling</a>, coal mining, <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/coal">coal</a> power and liquid natural gas projects around the world. These projects contribute vast amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, and many of them have severe local environmental, social and human rights impacts as well.</p><p>But in 2018, cities have more ethical options. Rather than investing the public's money in environmental and human destruction, cities can establish public banks. When properly structured and operated, public banks can prohibit the use of their funds for fossil fuel and other harmful projects. Instead, they can fund <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/renewable-energy/">renewable energy</a> and other green enterprises, affordable housing, education and low-cost loans to job-creating entrepreneurs—all while avoiding paying hundreds of millions of dollars in exorbitant fees to Wall Street banks.</p><p>The movement to establish public banks is growing nationwide. California is at the forefront, with efforts to pass state-wide legislation allowing establishment of municipal banks as well as campaigns to establish public banks in San Francisco, Oakland and other East Bay cities, Los Angeles and other municipalities.</p><p>When Los Angeles voters go to the polls next week, they will decide whether to approve Charter Amendment B, which amends the city's charter to enable it to take affirmative steps to establish a public bank. And Los Angeles is a great case study on the need for public banks. According to Public Bank L.A., the city maintains bank accounts with between $4 billion and $12 billion in cash, and manages up to $45 billion in investments through large commercial banks.</p><p>The enormous sum of public funds that L.A. entrusts to fossil fuel banks undercuts the climate leadership of city officials. For example, this past August L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti joined a coalition of hundreds of mayors across the country to <a href="https://www.lamayor.org/mayor-garcetti-and-climate-mayors-representing-407-cities-denounce-trump-administrations-proposed" target="_blank">condemn</a> Donald Trump's plans to weaken vehicle efficiency standards and rescind California's waiver right to set stronger greenhouse gas regulations. In December 2016, Garcetti joined other mayors to <a href="https://www.lamayor.org/mayor-garcetti-leads-%25E2%2580%2598climate-mayors%25E2%2580%2599-oppose-us-withdrawal-paris-agreement" target="_blank">denounce</a> Trump's decision to walk away from the <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/paris-agreement">Paris agreement</a>. The city council has shown progressive streaks on banking issues as well. In December 2017, the Council unanimously voted to enforce both federal and state Community Reinvestment Act ratings disqualifying Wells Fargo from submitting a Request for Proposal for the city's commercial banking services. And yet, the city still banks with Wells Fargo.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODc4NTc5MC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2Mjk3MjA2OX0.bdDNGsoH5OEZfrn4gr-iswJy_BJ4q-Mkt91exCYpJQc/img.jpg?width=980" id="cb0ff" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="41b3a8a40393b45de756cc0545117798" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-caption" placeholder="add caption...">Activist calling for Wells Fargo to divest from Dakota Access Pipeline. </small><small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">Joe Piette / Flickr / Creative Commons</small></p><p>If L.A. voters approve Charter Amendment B, the city will be one step closer to creating a municipal bank and redirecting its billions of dollars of public funds to environmentally sound, fiscally smart, sustainable community needs. In doing so, L.A. will serve as a beacon of progress to inspire the larger national movement to establish public banks.<br></p><p>For a sense of why Los Angeles so badly needs to approve Charter Amendment B, we've included descriptions of just a handful of the harmful projects Los Angeles is currently supporting by keeping its money in fossil fuel banks (based on publicly available information). Here is a sample of some of the projects that LA's banks support:</p><p>Dakota Access Pipeline (United States):</p><ul class="ee-ul"><li>Citi — $235 million in project finance</li><li>MUFG — $235 million in project finance</li><li>Wells Fargo — $120 million in project finance</li></ul><p>The <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/dakota-access-pipeline">Dakota Access Pipeline</a>, or DAPL, extends over 1,000 miles across several U.S. states, damaging Native American ancestral lands and water. Passing within just a half-mile of the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, the pipeline has destroyed sacred sites and threatens the tribe's drinking water with potential oil spills. Beginning in 2016, Native American water protectors, including Standing Rock Sioux tribal elders and members, led opposition to DAPL. Supported by thousands of allies, this grew into one of the largest and most iconic movements in the world to halt fossil fuel <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/pipelines">pipelines</a>. In response to peaceful, prayerful resistance, police from several states and agencies, members of the U.S. National Guard and armed private security forces used military equipment and tactics, including attack dogs, to intimidate, assault, arrest and otherwise commit grievous human rights abuses against water protectors and their allies. Opposition to the pipeline expanded far beyond the project site and supercharged the growing global movement against financial institutions that support fossil fuel projects.</p><p>Atlantic Coast Pipeline (United States):</p><ul class="ee-ul"><li>Bank of America — $673.5 million in corporate loans (13)</li><li>Citi — $673.5 million in corporate loans (14)</li><li>JP Morgan Chase — $648 million in corporate loans (15)</li><li>MUFG — $1.182 billion in corporate loans (16)</li><li>Wells Fargo — $673.5 million in corporate loans (17)</li></ul><p>The proposed 600-mile <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/atlantic-coast-pipeline">Atlantic Coast Pipeline</a>, running from West Virginia through North Carolina, is the third longest gas pipeline in production or in some phase of development over the past 20 years in the U.S. Trees have been cleared along the pipeline route and infrastructure development has begun. Although two lawsuits against the pipeline are now pending in federal and North Carolina courts, federal law allows pipelines to be constructed prior to the resolution of all litigation. The ACP was the only oil or gas pipeline to be on Donald Trump's list of 50 Priority National Security Projects prior to his election.</p><p>According to published reports, the central purpose of the ACP is to enter South Carolina and eventually reach Elba Island, Georgia where gas will be exported from a liquid natural gas facility now under construction. This recognition raises serious concerns regarding the use of eminent domain to take privately owned property for private gain instead of public use.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-rebelmouse-image">
<img type="lazy-image" data-runner-src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8xODc4NjYzMS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2NTUxNTIzNX0.k2aId-6AeBqBz-pBCEDqoD8V-jrb0jaXdsHiTwZUqUU/img.jpg?width=980" id="65935" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="fc1722bcfc6e426b2ee2bf0a8409bfb2" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image">
<small class="image-media media-photo-credit" placeholder="add photo credit...">Pax Ahimsa Gethen / Flickr</small></p><p>The ACP threatens the livelihood of more than 30,000 indigenous peoples that live along the pipeline route. In May 2018, an alliance of community, statewide and national groups filed a complaint to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (<a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/epa">EPA</a>) Civil Rights Compliance Office, alleging that the North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality discriminated on the basis of race and color in issuing permits and certifications to the ACP as part of the permitting process. In September 2018, environmental groups filed legal challenges in an appeals court against federal permitting agencies.<br></p><p>Kusile Power Station (South Africa):</p><ul class="ee-ul"><li>Bank of America — financial advisor</li><li>JP Morgan Chase — financial advisor</li><li>MUFG — part of 705 million euro corporate loan to South Africa's state power company, Eskom, to purchase boilers from Hitachi Power Europe for the Kusile coal power plant</li></ul><p>Once completed, the 4,800-megawatt Kusile coal plant in South Africa will be one of the largest coal plants in the world. The estimated annual greenhouse gas equivalent emissions of the plant—30 million tons—would increase South African energy sector emissions by 12.8 percent and the country's total contribution to climate change by 9.7 percent. South Africa already has the distinction of being among the top global greenhouse gas emitters per capita. The Kusile project area already exceeds permitted ambient levels of hazardous <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/air-pollution">air pollutants</a> that create soot and smog, which cause harm to respiratory, cardiovascular and nervous systems, leading to heart disease, cancer, stroke and chronic lower respiratory diseases, according to Physicians for Social Responsibility. If completed, Kusile will increase the cost of electricity for the poor and household consumers to compensate for Apartheid-era "special pricing agreements" that give large industrial users, which consume most of South Africa's electricity, guaranteed rates that are among the lowest in the world. The cost of Kusile, which in 2007 was estimated by Eskom to be 80 billion rand, had more than doubled to 172 billion rand by 2016. It is "expected to further strain Eskom's financial resources, and place upward pressure on Eskom's electricity price trajectory in the years ahead." In 2015 the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged Hitachi with violations of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act in connection with contracts to build Kusile and Medupi (another enormous coal plant in South Africa), resulting in a $19 million settlement.</p><p>Long Phu-1 Coal Plant (Vietnam):</p><ul class="ee-ul"><li>MUFG and JP Morgan Chase — among the lead financial arrangers, with potential combined $650 million in finance</li></ul><p>Long Phu-1 in Vietnam would emit an estimated 6.3 million tonnes of CO2 per year. As a "supercritical" coal power plant, Long Phu-1 is prohibited from being financed by most official government export credit agencies (ECA), including the U.S. Export-Import Bank. However, the former director of the EPA's Air Enforcement Division, Bruce Buckheit, revealed that the project consulting firm Environmental Resources Management doctored the coal plant's greenhouse gas emissions estimates to make Long Phu-1 appear to be a more efficient "ultra-supercritical" plant, which would be allowed under ECA coal financing restrictions. Analysis of Long Phu-1 by Friends of the Earth U.S. reveals that the project violates other international policies, including requirements to analyze alternatives, identify cumulative and associated risks and impacts, evaluate labor and working conditions, prevent pollution, protect community health, provide safety and security, and ensure biodiversity conservation. In February 2018, the New York Times reported that U.S. Export-Import Bank financing for Long Phu-1 had collapsed after it was revealed that project financiers included Vnesheconombank, a Russian bank that is on the U.S. government's sanctions list and is part of a federal investigation into possible collusion between the Russian government and the Trump presidential campaign. It was also reported that a top Long Phu-1 project official had been sentenced to prison for corruption. MUFG and JP Morgan Chase, like the U.S. Export-Import Bank, must also comply with U.S. sanctions. However, it remains unclear whether these banks continue to be potential financiers of Long Phu-1.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="319bd" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="AXJZ871576661973"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="996952236004700165" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">WATCH: 3 communities who stood up to Big Oil and won https://t.co/58BKMR6zGK #FossilFree https://t.co/dqOuksByOh</div> — 350 dot org (@350 dot org)<a href="https://twitter.com/350/statuses/996952236004700165">1526526910.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p><em>Doug Norlen is the economic policy program director for <a href="https://foe.org/city-angels-funds-hellish-fossil-fuel-projects/" target="_blank">Friends of the Earth</a>.</em><br></p>
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1,200+ U.S. Officials and Candidates Have Rejected Fossil Fuel Cash
30 October 2018
Insights + Opinion
Minnesota candidate Ilhan Omar is poised to become the first Somali-American elected to Congress. Sunrise Movement / Facebook
With record-breaking hurricanes, furious wildfires and an ominous report from the United Nations that forecasts catastrophic climate change, it's more important than ever to vote for leaders who are defenders of the environment.
Thankfully, we have candidates running for all levels of government who will take a stand on these critical issues and are promising ambitious climate policies if elected.
<p>
In fact, more than 1,200 elected officials and candidates running in local, state and federal elections are standing up to Big Oil and Gas and have taken the <a href="http://nofossilfuelmoney.org/" target="_blank">No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge</a>. </p><p>A number of high-profile candidates and incumbent lawmakers have joined the movement. This includes Sen. <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/bernie-sanders" target="_self">Bernie Sanders</a> of Vermont; Rep. Beto O'Rourke—Ted Cruz's foe for Senate in Texas; New York's Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who is on track become the youngest ever woman elected to Congress; Florida gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum; and Randy "Ironstache" Bryce, of House Speaker Paul Ryan's Wisconsin district, who is trying to flip the seat blue.</p><p><span></span>The list also includes candidates who lost their bids, i.e. Cynthia Nixon, who ran for governor of New York. </p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="fe066" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="IM7UB41576683787"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="897507023595724801" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">.@Ocasio2018, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, candidate for Congress in NY-14, just signed the #NoFossilFuelMoney pledge!… https://t.co/L6bivRnF0f</div> — No Fossil Fuel Money (@No Fossil Fuel Money)<a href="https://twitter.com/NoFossilMoney/statuses/897507023595724801">1502817323.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>
"Taking the pledge means that a politician and their campaign will adopt a policy to not knowingly accept any contributions over $200 from the PACs, executives, or front groups of fossil fuel companies—companies whose primary business is the extraction, processing, distribution, or sale of oil, gas, or coal," the pledge website touts.
</p><p>
The No Fossil Fuel Money Pledge is a pointed effort against the Democratic National Committee, which decided in August to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/dnc-fossil-fuel-donations-2595481111.html" target="_blank">reverse a ban on fossil fuel donations</a>.
</p><p>You can use this <a href="http://nofossilfuelmoney.org/pledge-signers/" target="_blank">search tool</a> to see if your election candidates have taken the pledge.<br></p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="9c310" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="ZO8RGD1576683787"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1055645951019208704" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Thank you, Charles Gallia, in race 4 OR State Senate, for joining 1200 other candidates in US pledging to take NO m… https://t.co/YHIPv7rCcO</div> — Daphne Wysham (@Daphne Wysham)<a href="https://twitter.com/daphnewysham/statuses/1055645951019208704">1540520582.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>
The <a href="https://www.sunrisemovement.org/" target="_blank">Sunrise Movement</a>, a politically-minded organization of young people uniting to stop the climate crisis, has endorsed <a href="https://www.sunrisemovement.org/endorsements" target="_blank">a full slate of candidates</a> who have rejected fossil fuel cash and promise to fight climate change.
</p><p>
For instance, they've united behind Minnesota candidate Ilhan Omar, who is poised to become the first Somali-American elected to Congress.
</p><p>
"Ilhan has fiercely backed a moratorium on new oil and gas infrastructure, especially when it comes to the Line 3 pipeline. She's promised to stop tax loopholes and giveaways to fossil fuel executives, if elected to office and will support legislation to create good-paying, union jobs in the clean energy sector instead," the group writes.</p><div id="dc2c4" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="C2AKR81576683788"><blockquote class="instagram-media" data-instgrm-captioned="" data-instgrm-version="4" style=" background:#FFF; border:0;
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<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/BohN6WOB2Jm/" style=" color:#000; font-family:Arial,sans-serif;
font-size:14px; font-style:normal; font-weight:normal; line-height:17px; text-decoration:none;
word-wrap:break-word;" target="_top">Sunrise Movement on Instagram: “Introducing... our FINAL SUNRISE ENDORSEMENT SLATE! Every one of these candidates has sworn off fossil fuels and is ready to fight like…”</a></p>
</div></blockquote></div><p>There are other tools that environmental voters can use before heading to the polls. As <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/10/29/18022736/2018-midterm-elections-climate-change-voters-guide" target="_blank">Vox</a> reported, <a href="https://voteclimatepac.org/voters-guide/" target="_blank">Vote Climate US PAC</a> has created a <a href="https://voteclimatepac.org/voters-guide/" target="_blank">climate change voter's guide</a> for House and Senate races that's based on what incumbents and challengers have said they'll do to address Earth's rising temperatures, from a carbon tax and their stated position on climate change.<br></p><p>
You'll be unsurprised to find that the vast majority of the so-called "climate heroes" in the guide are Democrats.
</p><p>
<span></span>"We all know that there are differences between Republicans and Democrats on the issue, but to me what was stunning was the extent of the divide between the parties," Karyn Strickler, president of Vote Climate US PAC, told Vox. "What this demonstrates is that climate politics are overwhelmingly driven by party."
</p><p>
The <a href="https://www.sierraclubindependentaction.org/endorsements" target="_blank">Sierra Club</a> has also issued a voter guide and made <a href="https://www.sierraclub.org/california/2018-endorsements" target="_blank">endorsements</a> for candidates and ballot measures. The environmental group has even created a <a href="https://www.sierraclubindependentaction.org/" target="_blank">personalized ballot</a> based on your address.
</p><p>There are many reasons to head to the polls on or before Nov. 6. Saving the environment should be one of them.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="d998f" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="6G1SXQ1576683788"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1055163772048941058" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">There's never been a better time to be a #ClimateVoter and fight for a brighter future. Are you in?
https://t.co/GhtDYWCEBj</div> — NRDC Action Fund (@NRDC Action Fund)<a href="https://twitter.com/NRDC_AF/statuses/1055163772048941058">1540405621.0</a></blockquote></div>
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Dena Cooper / Ikon Images / Getty Images
With the midterms rapidly approaching, it's important to make your vote count in the most pressing issue of our time: climate change.
After a year of destructive hurricanes, killer flooding and devastating wildfires, 2018 is already on pace to be among the hottest years in recorded history. Earlier this month, top scientists urged drastic emissions cuts in order to avoid climate catastrophe. Meanwhile, we have lawmakers in office who are not taking these threats very seriously, deny the science, and encourage the use of planet-warming fossil fuels.
<p>
For all these reasons and more, Nov. 6, 2018 will be one of the most important elections yet. That's why <a href="http://genprogress.org/" target="_blank">Generation Progress</a> and <a href="http://theyearsproject.com/" target="_blank">The Years Project</a> have launched the <a href="http://beaclimatevoter.org/" target="_blank">Be a Climate Voter</a> campaign to motivate Americans—especially the country's youngest voters—to head to the polls.
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="0668d" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="93WFPM1576683789"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1054803151621144576" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">The election is just around the corner and this year, the world's biggest polluters are counting on you.… https://t.co/QQyMV74l5Q</div> — The YEARS Project (@The YEARS Project)<a href="https://twitter.com/YEARSofLIVING/statuses/1054803151621144576">1540319643.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>
A recent <a href="https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/public-backs-action-global-warming-cost-concerns-muted/story?id=56549874" target="_blank">ABC News</a> poll found that most Americans believe the government should take action on global warming. Unsurprisingly, the generation growing up with the climate crisis and the ones who will have to deal with its worst effects after all the older voters are gone think the country should be doing more to fight global warming.
</p><p>
"Support for substantial government action ranges from 70 percent of those 18-39 to 54 percent of those 50-plus," the poll says. "Young people also are much more confident in such action, 71 vs. 48 percent; and more apt to see serious risks to the United States if it's not taken, 61 vs. 44 percent."
</p><p>
<span></span>Kilan Bishop, a 26-year-old PhD student, has seen first-hand how <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/affordable-housing-crisis-miami-2600421067.html">flooding has adversely affected</a> her community in Miami, Florida and will be voting with environmental justice in mind when she casts her ballot.
</p><p>
"Climate change used to feel like this big overwhelming threat, but this year I found something I can do about it—I'm a climate voter," she says in a Be a Climate Voter campaign video.
</p><p>
Thursday, Oct. 24, EcoWatch will host a Facebook Live at 12 p.m. EST featuring Bishop, who will share her experiences on the front-lines of climate change and highlight the importance of the youth vote. Join us on our <a href="https://www.facebook.com/EcoWatch/" target="_blank">Facebook home page</a>.</p><p>
If you care about clean air, water and preserving our precious natural resources we urge you to join the movement. Use the hashtag #ClimateVoter on Oct. 24 to share why you'll be voting with the planet in mind.
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Hurricane Michael slammed into the Florida Panhandle on October 10, as a category 4 storm causing massive damage and claiming about 30 lives. Scott Olson / Getty Images
By Justin Mikulka
As the midterm elections approach, DeSmog is taking this opportunity to highlight some of the top climate science deniers currently running for office in the U.S.
<p>
Did we miss someone notable? Let us know.
</p><h3>Rep. Clay Higgins (R-La)</h3><p>
Recently featured on DeSmog for
<a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/10/18/congressman-clay-higgens-gas-industry-three-percenters" target="_blank">some of his other extreme views</a>, Rep. Clay Higgins of Louisiana's Third Congressional District qualifies as a climate science denier on top of being a "warrior" for the natural gas industry.
</p><p>
Higgins told
<a href="https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/watch-louisiana-rep-clay-higgins-skepticism-human-caused-climate-change" target="_blank">PBS News Hour</a> in August 2017: "Climate change has always happened, that's my argument, well before, you know, we had four-wheel drive trucks and boats and Suburbans rolling around or, you know, large industrial plants and whatnot."
</p><p>
And the climate denier-in-chief
<a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/donald-trump" target="_blank">Donald Trump</a>, who recently made a <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/10/17/60-minutes-trump-says-not-denying-climate-change" target="_blank">similarly flawed argument on 60 Minutes</a>, tweeted his support: "We want Clay!"
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="5ed43" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="O3XLX21540321972"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1011053439575576576" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">.@RepClayHiggins has been a great help to me on Cutting Taxes, creating great new healthcare programs at low cost,… https://t.co/8Y4VAfVZK3</div> — Donald J. Trump (@Donald J. Trump)<a href="https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/statuses/1011053439575576576">1529888899.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><h3>North Carolina's Ninth Congressional District</h3><p>
North Carolina was recently devastated by Hurricane Florence, which has raised discussions of climate change in a historically skeptical state. The congressional seat in the Ninth District, which felt the impacts of Florence, is currently up for grabs after the Republican incumbent lost in the primary.
</p><p>
Running on the Republican side is
<a href="https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/election/article219716505.html" target="_blank">Mark Harris</a>, a conservative Baptist preacher and avid Trump supporter. While Harris has run for office before, he has not won.
</p><p>
In 2014 when asked if he believed in climate change, he
<a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/21092018/election-florence-north-carolina-climate-change-mccready-harris-trump-women" target="_blank">simply said,</a> "No."
</p><p>
Running against Harris is Dan McCready,
<a href="https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/election/article218945310.html" target="_blank">a Harvard Business School graduate and former marine</a> who started a solar investment fund after graduating from Harvard. Polls show a tight race. Though both candidates were <a href="http://www.wfae.org/post/harris-mccready-have-first-debate-close-9th-district-race#stream/0" target="_blank">asked at a debate</a>about their views on public education and climate change, neither directly answered the question.
</p><p>
This remains a close race as
<a href="https://www.charlotteobserver.com/news/politics-government/election/article219662385.html" target="_blank">in two recent polls</a> McCready led in one and Harris led in the other (although both were within the margin of error). McCready does have a major fundraising advantage over Harris for the last weeks of the campaign making this a competitive race in a district that was expected to be an easy win for Republicans.
</p><p>
And while the candidates
<a href="https://insideclimatenews.org/news/21092018/election-florence-north-carolina-climate-change-mccready-harris-trump-women" target="_blank">aren't talking about climate change</a>, their future constituents increasingly are. As The Washington Post recently reported, the state's extreme weather has been making believers out of former climate deniers. One <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/in-north-carolina-hurricanes-do-what-scientists-could-not-persuade-republicans-that-climate-change-is-real/2018/10/17/45136c56-d0ac-11e8-8c22-fa2ef74bd6d6_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_term=.148d9126fcb2" target="_blank">Trump supporter reportedly said</a>, "I always thought climate change was a bunch of nonsense, but now I really do think it is happening."
</p><h3>Florida Governor Race</h3><p>
The race to be the next Governor of Florida will conclude long before the recovery from Hurricane Michael does. Notably, the current governor of Florida, Rick Scott,
<a href="https://www.miamiherald.com/news/state/florida/article12983720.html" target="_blank">banned use of the phrase "climate change"</a> in government communications.
</p><p>
The Republican candidate is Ron DeSantis, a three-term Congressman who recently resigned from Congress to run full-time for governor. DeSantis is a Trump favorite, with the President recently tweeting: "A great Congressman and top student at Harvard & Yale."
</p><p>
In a
<a href="https://theweek.com/speedreads/803096/florida-governor-candidates-andrew-gillum-ron-desantis-talk-climate-change-race-tampa-debate" target="_blank">recent debate </a>DeSantis said he doesn't "want to be an alarmist" — a favorite term of climate science deniers — when talking about climate change, despite commenting shortly after Hurricane Michael devastated the panhandle.
</p><p>
Democratic candidate Andrew Gillum
<a href="https://newsone.com/3832805/gillum-desantis-florida-debate-takeaways/" target="_blank">got straight to the point</a>, saying if he is elected, the people of Florida will "have a governor who believes in science, which we haven't had for quite some time in this state." He <a href="http://www.wlrn.org/post/analysts-florida-2018-governors-race-most-interesting-memory" target="_blank">is also campaigning</a> on cutting greenhouse gas emissions and shifting to renewable energy.
</p><p>
For a state battling climate-fueled
<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/miami-floods-sea-level-rise-solutions-2018-4" target="_blank"> sea level rise,</a> <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/10/21/mexico-beach-house-hurricane-michael-trump-climate-denier-politicians" target="_blank">hurricanes, </a>and <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/08/02/pollution-policies-toxic-algae-red-tide-cyanobacteria-florida-lake-okeechobee" target="_blank">toxic algae</a>, a belief in science in the state house would indeed be a novelty.
</p><p>
The co-owner of the only house on Mexico Beach that survived Hurricane Michael with barely any damage summed up the reality when
<a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/10/21/mexico-beach-house-hurricane-michael-trump-climate-denier-politicians" target="_blank">speaking with DeSmog's Julie Dermansky</a>: "I'm tired of politicians lying to us. The American people need to understand they are lying. The people who are denying climate change are not telling the truth." Incidentally, he's a Republican.
</p><h3>Rep. Dana Rohrabacher (R-CA)</h3><p>
Rep. Rohrabacher is a longtime Congressman representing Orange County, California, who is known for climate denying
<a href="http://www.laist.com/2018/09/27/in_this_oc_congressional_race_its_surfing_climate_change_skeptic_v_former-republican-turned-liberal.php?_ga=2.38388131.1405255288.1540199394-1724306958.1539932064" target="_blank">statements such as</a>, "I disagree with the theory that CO2, done by mankind, is a major cause for climate change."
</p><p>
Despite his district's typically conservative history (though Hillary Clinton beat Trump there by two points in 2016), Rohrabacher finds himself in a competitive race against Democrat Harley Rouda. Last week the
<a href="http://www.latimes.com/politics/la-na-pol-gop-money-20181012-story.html" target="_blank">Los Angeles Times reported </a>that a national Super PAC closely aligned with House Speaker Paul Ryan stopped spending money on Rohrabacher's race — a troubling sign for his campaign— but perhaps a positive one for the climate.
</p><h3>Texas Senate Race</h3><p>
Former Republican presidential candidate and incumbent Texas Senator Ted Cruz is well known
<a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2016/03/27/where-do-remaining-presidential-candidates-stand-climate-issues" target="_blank">for his climate denialism</a>. Now facing a tough challenge from newcomer Beto O'Rourke, Cruz gave a classic non-response to a question about climate change in a recent debate.
</p><p>
"Of course, the climate is changing,"
<a href="https://thinkprogress.org/texas-senate-beto-ourourke-cruz-climate-change-debate-4c72e8fee2cd/" target="_blank">Cruz said</a>. "The climate has been changing since the dawn of time."
</p><p>
On the other hand, Cruz's opponent O'Rourke was quite clear on his position on climate change at the debate: "The climate is changing. And man-made climate change is a fact."
</p><p>
In a state that suffered
<a href="https://www.texastribune.org/2018/01/08/hurricane-harvey-was-years-costliest-us-disaster-125-billion-damages/" target="_blank">$125 billion in damages</a> from Hurricane Harvey — which <a href="https://www.wunderground.com/cat6/harvey-houston-most-extreme-rains-ever-major-us-city" target="_blank">broke rainfall records</a> for a continental U.S.city — <a href="http://climatecommunication.yale.edu/visualizations-data/ycom-us-2018/?est=happening&type=value&geo=state&id=48" target="_blank">70 percent of adults agree</a> global warming is happening, though only 42 percent believe that it will harm them personally.
</p><h3>Pennsylvania Governor Race</h3><p>
After belittling as "a little young and naive" an 18-year-old constituent who asked him about climate change (and his campaign contributions from the fossil fuel industry), Pennsylvania Republican candidate for governor
<a href="http://www2.philly.com/philly/news/politics/scott-wagner-pa-gop-pennsylvania-governors-race-nominee-climate-change-activist-20180719.html" target="_blank">Scott Wagner said</a>, "Are we here to elect a governor, or are we here to elect a scientist?"
</p><div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="3b2d3464520f9ae03f59cc3dcf2e59fd"><div class="fb-video" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/RagingChickenPress/videos/1886073231448894/" data-allowfullscreen="true"></div></div><p>
In past comments, Wagner has used typical denier talking points when discussing climate change, <a href="https://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2017/03/28/wagner-keynotes-for-natural-gas-advocates-in-harrisburg/" target="_blank">saying</a>: "I haven't been in a science class in a long time, but the earth moves closer to the sun every year — you know the rotation of the earth. We're moving closer to the sun."<br>
</p><p>
He went on to say: "We have more people. You know, humans have warm bodies. So is heat coming off? Things are changing, but I think we are, as a society, doing the best we can."
</p><p>
In case you were wondering:
<a href="https://www.politifact.com/pennsylvania/statements/2017/mar/31/scott-wagner/pa-gopers-climate-change-theory-debunked-nope-not-/" target="_blank">No, human body heat is not causing climate change</a> and neither is the position of the Earth to the sun. And no, <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/10/07/ipcc-report-says-1-5c-climate-target-reachable-only-rapid-fossil-fuel-phase-out" target="_blank">climate scientists don't think we're doing the best we can</a>.
</p><h3>Notable Mentions</h3><p>
In a debate for the open Senate seat in Arizona, Republican candidate Martha McSally responded to
<a href="https://www.mediamatters.org/video/2018/10/16/Arizona-Republic-reporter-asks-a-readers-question-about-climate-change-during-Senate-debat/221707" target="_blank">a question about climate change</a> by saying, "I can't believe this is the last question" and didn't directly give an answer. Democratic candidate Kyrsten Sinema said, "I do believe that climate change is real."
</p><p>
However, in response to a
<a href="https://www.azcentral.com/story/news/local/arizona-environment/2018/10/08/arizona-elections-where-candidates-stand-climate-change-water-urban-heat-issues/1534527002/" target="_blank">similar question by the Arizona Republic</a> earlier this month, McSally, a representative who has <a href="http://scorecard.lcv.org/moc/martha-mcsally" target="_blank">frequently voted against the climate</a>, acknowledged: "Our environment and the Earth's climate are changing and there is likely a human element to it." But she went on to call Obama's signature climate change program, the Clean Power Plan, "crushing regulation" and failed to offer any specific approach to addressing climate change in Arizona.
</p><p>
Not exactly denial but not exactly embracing the scientific consensus either.
</p><p>
And while Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) isn't up for reelection this year, he lost no time in the wake of
<a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/10/21/mexico-beach-house-hurricane-michael-trump-climate-denier-politicians" target="_blank">Hurricane Michael's devastation</a> to unleash a string of climate denial talking points, including doubt that <a href="https://skepticalscience.com/its-not-us.htm" target="_blank">climate change is substantially caused by human activity</a>.
</p><p>
When asked by CNN's Jake Tapper what he would tell his children 20 years from now about what he did to help stop the impacts of climate change, Rubio didn't have good news for the kids: "We're going to have to do something … But I'm also not going to destroy our economy. There's a reality here."
</p><p>
Check out this video for more of Rubio's views on climate change:
</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-youtube">
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</p><h3>Climate Change and Electoral Politics</h3><p>
As the impacts of climate change become more severe, widespread, and frequent, expect climate change to play a bigger role in electoral politics (it certainly has plenty of room to grow).
</p><p>
<span></span>For example, one of the few Republicans in the country who is outspoken in acknowledging climate change is <a href="https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/energy/carlos-curbelo-the-republican-whos-all-in-on-climate-change" target="_blank">Rep. Carlos Curbelo (R-FL) </a>who represents southern Florida, including the Florida Keys. If nothing is done about sea level rise, much of his district may be underwater in a few decades.
</p><p> <em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://www.desmogblog.com/2018/10/23/climate-deniers-cruz-wagner-higgins-harris-desantis-rohrabacher" target="_blank">DeSmogBlog</a>.</em><em></em></p>
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OSCE Parliamentary Assembly / CC BY-SA 2.0
By Tara Lohan
How little do elected officials care about climate change? Look no further than a recent U.S. Senate hearing about the biggest threats facing the country, where lawmakers asked a single question about global warming during the entire three-hour event.
<p>Sadly, this hearing occurred just days after the world's leading scientific body on climate change <a href="http://report.ipcc.ch/sr15/pdf/sr15_spm_final.pdf" target="_blank">warned</a> that the world has a mere dozen years to avoid catastrophic impacts.</p><p>Despite the urgency of the climate crisis, getting elected officials in the U.S. to commit to genuine solutions has been slow going, to say the least.</p><p>Nathaniel Stinnett has some idea of why and what to do about it.</p><p>Stinnett worked for years as a consultant and advisor on political campaigns and for advocacy nonprofits. A few years ago he noticed that polls showed that climate change and environmental issues were usually last among priorities for likely voters.</p><p>But that's not because Americans don't care about those issues, he said. Polls of American adults show that tens of millions do care deeply about those issues. They're just not good voters compared to people who vote on issues like immigration, which is the <a href="https://www.vox.com/2018/6/20/17485162/pew-research-center-poll-immigration-issue-2018-midterms" target="_blank">top priority among voters in this year's midterm election</a>.</p><p>So in 2015 Stinnett launched the <a href="https://www.environmentalvoter.org/" target="_blank">Environmental Voter Project</a> with the goals of identifying environmental advocates who don't vote and then turning them out for any and all elections.</p><p>The group calculated that close to 16 million environmentalists didn't vote in the 2014 midterms, and around 10 million didn't vote in 2016's presidential election.</p><p>It's hoped that the more people vote, the more action will finally be taken by the politicians who get elected. "More facts or fancy arguments are not going to convince politicians to lead on climate change," he said. "All they care about is getting enough votes, so that's all we care about."</p><p>In just a few years of effort, the results are already encouraging.</p><h3>The Strategy</h3><p>Most other voting-oriented initiatives follow two typical strategies. Some groups focus on registering people who have never voted. Others, including nearly everyone running a political campaign or advocating for an issue, focus on turning out likely voters who align with their candidate or cause.</p><p>That means that very few organizations (if any) end up talking to people who are registered but simply don't show up on Election Day. There's a reason for that: "If I'm trying to elect you governor of California, I'm not going to spend your money talking to people I know aren't going to vote," said Stinnett. "That's how I get fired."</p><p>And that's where the Environmental Voter Project's mission differs. They don't endorse candidates or lobby for issues. They aren't trying to win any elections. They don't even try to convince people to care more about climate change and the environment.</p><p>Instead they find people who already believe in the cause but don't currently vote.</p><p>"And instead of changing their minds, we change their behavior and turn them into more consistent voters," he said. "We don't focus on elections. We focus on changing the electorate."</p><p>In other words, the Environmental Voter Project plays the long game.</p><p>That's because politicians are only interested in issues that are important to voters, not nonvoters. "Nothing motivates a politician more than winning or losing an election," said Stinnett. "If you get more environmentalists to vote, you're going to get more politicians leading on environmental issues. Our goal is to have real environmental leadership not just at the federal level, but also at the state and local level."</p><p>The organization uses extensive polling and publicly available data to build predictive models that can identify people who are likely to say that climate change and environmental issues are one of their top two priorities. Then they check that list against voting records to find their targets.</p><p>After that staff and 1,800 volunteers use a combination of contact methods including calling, texting, door-to-door canvassing, direct mail and digital advertising.</p><p>It's hard work, and while some people may be frustrated by the sheer number of people who care about the environment but don't vote, Stinnett sees a tremendous opportunity.</p><p>"We live in a world where it's increasingly hard to get people to change their minds, especially when we're talking about climate change and other environmental issues," he said. "But if we're talking about finding people who are already with us and slightly tweaking their actions, it's a little bit easier."</p><h3>The Results</h3><p>The Environmental Voter Project tested out its methods for the first two years in Massachusetts before expanding last year to Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Nevada and Pennsylvania.</p><p>How effective have their efforts been? The group reported that by using mail and digital advertising, it was able to increase turnout between 2.8 and 4.5 percent. In-person canvassing bumps up turnout by 4.9 to 6.9 percent.</p><p>And because the group was focusing on every single election, big or small, there were some people who got contacted for four elections in a single year. "By then end of the fourth election there were people that were voting at a 12.1 percent higher rate than our control group," Stinnett said.</p><p>The reason that number is so high, they believe, is that others took notice of their results. It only takes two months after you vote for your name to show up on voter records, so after nonvoters start turning out for elections, other campaigns begin to identify them as likely voters.</p><p>"It was like the cavalry would come in and we were sending this signal to the marketplace that these people were now voters," said Stinnett. "And then all these well-funded campaigns were coming in and turning out these people at no cost to us."</p><h3>The Lessons</h3><p>And here's the unexpected thing about EVP's strategy and success: Even though it's targeting environmentalists, its messaging rarely ever mentions the environment. Instead it plays on people's desires to fit in with their peers.</p><p>This kind of social-norms messaging is used a lot these days. There are apps that motivate you to work out by comparing your run to your friend's or get you to save electricity by telling you how much energy your neighbor uses.</p><p>The Environmental Voter Project employs similar tactics to turn out voters.</p><p>For example, a target might receive a mailing letting her know how many people in her building voted in the last election. "Sometimes we remind them that whether they vote or not is public record, sometimes we'll even send them copies of their voter records and tell them we'll follow up after the election," said Stinnett.</p><p>The project also uses <a href="https://www.environmentalvoter.org/sign-the-pledge" target="_blank">voter pledges</a>, which he says work surprisingly well in convincing people to keep their promise and vote. "Most people want to be known as honest promise keepers," he said. And that relates to another concept they employ: expressive choice theory.</p><p>Instead of rationally trying to convince someone of the importance of their vote (which would be rational choice theory), EVP focuses on changing the person's behavior to take advantage of how they want to express themselves or how they want to view themselves, Stinnett explains.</p><p>While that all may sound a bit pushy, Stinnett doesn't care. "It isn't like the climate crisis is a small thing," he said. "If getting a little aggressive with social-pressure techniques can dramatically increase the number of environmentalists that vote, you better believe we're going to do it."</p><p>Right now people in the U.S. are fixated on Nov. 6 and what the midterm election may bring, but Stinnett and his colleagues are already shifting their focus to the mayoral elections of spring 2019.</p><p>Every election, he believes, is an opportunity to change behavior and eventually policy.</p><p>"The climate crisis is not some disease for which we have no cure," he said. "All we're missing is political leadership. We already have all the policy solutions. We just don't have people willing to enact them."</p><p>Stinnett believes that voting, which takes the average American just 14 minutes, is one of the most significant actions you can take to save the planet.</p><p>"Simply by becoming a voter on public voter records you become a part of the (unfortunately very small) group of Americans who drive policy," Stinnett said. And while some people who care about the environment have made lifestyle changes to tread more lightly on the planet, they still haven't shown up to vote en masse.</p><p>"But once we start doing that, it's amazing how quickly things can change," he said.</p><p><em><a href="https://therevelator.org/author/taralohan/" target="_blank">Tara Lohan</a> is deputy editor of The Revelator and has worked for more than a decade as a digital editor and environmental journalist focused on the intersections of energy, water and climate. Her work has been published by The Nation, American Prospect, High Country News, Grist, Pacific Standard and others. She is the editor of two books on the global water crisis.</em></p><p><em><span></span>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://therevelator.org/change-electorate-election/" target="_blank">The Revelator</a>.</em><em></em></p>
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'Go Out and Vote' Patagonia Endorses Candidates for First Time in Its History
19 October 2018
Politics
DSLRVideo.com / Flicker / CC BY-SA 2.0
Outdoor brand Patagonia is endorsing candidates for the first time in its history in an effort to protect the country's at-risk public lands and waters.
The civic-minded retailer is backing two Democrats in two crucial Senate races: the re-election of Sen. Jon Tester of Montana; and Rep. Jacky Rosen, who is trying to unseat Republican Sen. Dean Heller in Nevada.
<p>
Although CEOs give endorsements and corporations donate to candidates all the time, Patagonia's move is likely the first time any U.S. company has explicitly endorsed candidates for office, campaign-finance experts told the
<a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/powerpost/paloma/the-energy-202/2018/10/19/the-energy-202-in-what-may-be-a-first-patagonia-endorses-two-senate-candidates/5bc8b2fb1b326b7c8a8d1a67/" target="_blank">Washington Post</a>.
</p><p>
"We are supporting Jon Tester because he gives a damn about protecting public lands—and, like US, he's committed to fight back against anyone who doesn't," Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard said in a press release emailed to EcoWatch. "He goes to work every day for the 95 percent of Montanans who believe recreation on public lands is a priority, unlike Republicans in Congress who only serve the
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildfires">fossil fuel</a> industry."
</p><p>
Patagonia CEO and president Rose Marcario was similarly enthusiastic about Rosen.
</p><p>
"She will fight to protect Nevada's public lands and the vibrant outdoor industry that depends on them," Marcario said in the press release. "Jacky has a strong record of defending public lands in Congress and protecting our access to clean air and clean waters."
</p><p>
Patagonia has a major presence in Nevada, the home of its global distribution center, its
<a href="https://wornwear.patagonia.com/" target="_blank">Worn Wear</a> repair center and more than 650 of its employees. For the past two decades, the company has partnered with grassroots environmental nonprofits and state leaders on conservation issues.
</p><p>
In Montana, the company's conservation efforts have dated back nearly 30 years when it started offering grants to support the
<a href="https://wildmontana.org/" target="_blank">Montana Wilderness Association</a>. The Treasure State is also home to a Patagonia outlet store and is where the company started its <a href="http://www.onepercentfortheplanet.org/" target="_blank">1% for the Planet</a> program.
</p><p>
Patagonia is not afraid to get political. They sued <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/trump">President Donald Trump</a> last year over his controversial decision to
<a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/trump-shrinking-bears-ears-2515965614.html">shrink</a> Bears Ears and Grand Staircase-Escalante <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/national-monuments">national monuments</a> in Utah, and it famously declared on its website, "<a href="https://www.patagonia.com/protect-public-lands.html" target="_blank">The President Stole Your Land</a>."
</p><p>
The company also helped launch the nonpartisan "<a href="http://www.maketimetovote.org/#about" target="_blank">Time to Vote</a>" campaign to increase voter participation. It will give its roughly 1,500 U.S. employees a paid day off this Nov. 6 so they have time to head to the polls. It did the same during the 2016 election.
</p><p>
"In the last midterm election only 36 percent of eligible voters decided to vote. That's not enough voters to represent the American people. I think we deserve better than that," Chouinard
<a href="https://twitter.com/patagonia/status/1050449164381782016" target="_blank">said</a> in the video posted last week. "If you do too, then let's get off our butts and go out and vote."</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="c3bd7" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="NB14P91576662667"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="1050449164381782016" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard reminds you that democracy requires showing up.
On November 6, #MidtermsMatter —… https://t.co/EOtH7q3ERL</div> — Patagonia (@Patagonia)<a href="https://twitter.com/patagonia/statuses/1050449164381782016">1539281571.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p>
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The Environment Is on the November Ballot — Here’s Where and What’s at Stake
12 October 2018
Politics
ALEX EDELMAN / AFP / Getty Images
By Tara Lohan
Environmental issues such as polluted drinking water in Michigan and harmful algal blooms in Florida could influence which candidates voters will support in this November's midterm election, said Holly Burke, communications coordinator of the League of Conservation Voters.
<p>"Water issues really resonate with voters in states where clean water has been a dramatic problem," said Burke.</p><p>These issues may affect certain political candidates, but in some states ballot measures will be a more direct way for residents to weigh in on environmental issues. For those hoping that statewide initiatives will help to combat environmental rollbacks at the federal level by the Trump administration, this election will be a crucial test.</p><p>The statewide ballot initiative with the greatest environmental significance will be decided by voters in Washington state, which could signal a shift in climate change strategy.</p><p>Two other western states will take on clean energy standards, and water issues will appear on the ballots in three states, including a confusing measure in Florida that pairs offshore drilling with an unrelated measure on vaping.</p><p>"We're seeing a lot of support for states to take the lead in the light of federal attacks on clean energy and climate," said Bill Holland, state policy director for the League of Conservation Voters.</p><h1>A Fee on Polluters</h1><p>The biggest test will be nearly 3,000 miles from Washington, DC, in Washington state. If voters approve <a href="https://www.sos.wa.gov/_assets/elections/initiatives/finaltext_1482.pdf" target="_blank">Initiative 1631</a>, Washington could significantly move the needle on climate action by being the first state to enact a fee on carbon emissions.</p><p>Carbon pricing bills have been proposed by a <a href="https://priceoncarbon.org/business-society/state-actions/" target="_blank">number of state legislatures</a>, including Washington's, but none have yet to pass in the U.S. Now Washington voters will decide for themselves on the issue and if Initiative 1631 wins, it could trigger efforts in other states.</p><p>"We're super excited and see it as a potential model nationwide," said Holland.</p><p>The measure would put a fee of $15 per metric ton on carbon emissions, beginning in 2020. This fee would increase $2 every year until the state hits its 2035 greenhouse gas reduction goals and is on track to meet its 2050 goals.</p><p>There's a lot at stake, not just for Washington, but the whole country.</p><p>"If it passes, Washington will take its place as a part of a growing West Coast climate vanguard, alongside California and Oregon, representing close to 20 percent of the U.S. economy," <a href="https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2018/9/28/17899804/washington-state-climate-policy-1631-carbon-fee-green-new-deal" target="_blank">wrote</a> David Roberts at <em>Vox</em>. "If it fails, it will not only be a crushing blow to an already battered state climate community, but it will cast doubt on the larger states-will-save-us narrative, which is just about the only narrative U.S. climate hawks have left."</p><p>Just two years ago Washington voters rejected a similar measure, Initiative 732, which would have created a carbon tax. The measures, however, aren't identical. A carbon tax would have directed revenue generated by the program to the state's general fund. This year's Initiative 1631 instead uses a fee, which directs the money to specific purposes.</p><p>Money raised by Initiative 1631 would be divvied up, with 70 percent directed toward supporting clean air and clean energy investments; 25 percent invested in clean water and healthy forests; and the remaining 5 percent targeted for helping communities deal with the impacts of climate change.</p><p>The initiative was <a href="https://jobscleanenergywa.com/ballot-filing-statement/" target="_blank">put the ballot</a> by a coalition of community, environment, labor and climate-justice groups.</p><p>The opposition, led by Western States Petroleum Association, has raised $21 million to defeat the measure, but Holland says he still likes the initiative's chances of success. "Climate change is on the ballot and we think there is broad public support for holding polluters accountable," he say.</p><h1>Clean Water</h1><p>Montana and Alaska voters will weigh in on water protections, but of two very different sorts.</p><p>In Montana <a href="https://sosmt.gov/wp-content/uploads/I-186.pdf" target="_blank">Initiative 186</a> seeks to protect the state's waters from pollution from new hardrock mines. It would give the state's Department of Environment Quality the ability to deny permits for a new mine if the project's plan doesn't prove that it will prevent water pollution "without the need for perpetual treatment."</p><p>The biggest financial supporter of the initiative is the fish-friendly nonprofit Trout Unlimited. Anglers have good reason for hoping to keep the state's rivers clean and its fish populations healthy. The measure is opposed by mining interests led by the Montana Mining Association, which is concerned it would result in job losses and other economic damages.</p><p>The state is still dealing with the <a href="https://www.hcn.org/articles/contaminants-montanas-clark-fork-river-superfund-river-cleanup-mercury-pollution-mines" target="_blank">toxic legacy</a> of earlier hardrock mines that have resulted in one of the country's largest Superfund sites. And mining issues are still front and center. Montana's Smith River was highlighted earlier in the year by the nonprofit American Rivers in its annual survey of the country's "most endangered rivers" due to a <a href="https://www.americanrivers.org/conservation-resource/montanas-smith-river-among-americas-most-endangered-rivers-of-2018/" target="_blank">proposed copper mine</a> currently vying for permits.</p><p>Further north, Alaska's <a href="http://www.elections.alaska.gov/petitions/17FSH2/17FSH2%20Impartial%20Summary%20Post-Supreme%20Court%20Decision.pdf" target="_blank">Measure 1</a> would set up stricter permitting regulations and new requirements for projects that could impact aquatic habitat for salmon, steelhead and other anadromous fish, which migrate between rivers and the ocean.</p><p>"It enhances the public process and public participation in decisions around large-scale development that would impact salmon habitat, which is a core part of Alaska's identity," said Holland. The fish have not just environmental, but economic and cultural importance in the state.</p><p>Groups like the Alaska Center, Wild Salmon Center and Alaska Conservation Foundation are supporting the measure. It's opposed by numerous oil drilling and mining companies, including BP Exploration Inc. Alaska, ConocoPhillips and Hecla Mining Company.</p><h1>Drilling off Florida</h1><p>One of the most confounding ballot initiatives will appear before Florida voters.</p><p>When voters get to <a href="https://dos.myflorida.com/media/699824/constitutional-amendments-2018-general-election-english.pdf" target="_blank">Amendment 9 </a>on this year's ballot, they will decide whether to ban offshore oil and gas drilling in state waters. At the same time, they will vote on whether to allow vaping (the use of "vapor-generating electronic devices") in indoor workplaces.</p><p>This odd confluence stems from the state's strange initiative process. Florida's Constitution Revision Commission only convenes every 20 years to decide which constitutional amendments to place on the ballot. In some cases they are grouped together.</p><p>The dual measure makes for odd bedfellows (and potentially voter confusion). A yes vote means a voter is in favor of banning both offshore drilling and indoor vaping. A no vote would be in support of drilling and vaping. If you're in favor of one, but not the other, you're out of luck.</p><p>Supporters of the measure are largely environmental groups opposed to drilling, while opponents are a mix of petroleum companies and the Consumer Advocates for Smoke-Free Alternatives Association.</p><p>Vaping aside, offshore drilling is gearing up to be a key issue. The Trump administration has worked to reverse offshore drilling moratoriums and <a href="https://www.pnj.com/story/news/local/pensacola/beaches/2018/10/08/pensacola-area-fears-moves-relax-offshore-drilling-rules/1533490002/" target="_blank">safety regulations</a> issued by Obama administration, and has <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/04/climate/trump-offshore-drilling.html" target="_blank">sought to open</a> most of the country's waters to drilling.</p><h1>Clean Energy Standards</h1><p>Washington won't be the only state voting on issues related to energy and climate.</p><p>Nevada's <a href="https://www.nvsos.gov/sos/home/showdocument?id=5824" target="_blank">Question 6</a> and <a href="https://azsos.gov/sites/default/files/Proposition_127_Final.pdf" target="_blank">Arizona's Proposition 127</a> are both measures that would increase the state's renewable portfolio standards, which is the minimum amount of electric power that utilities need to get from renewable sources. Both would bump the standards to 50 percent by 2030.</p><p>Nevada's current renewable portfolio standard is 25 percent by 2025, but the state is already almost there. In 2016 it had 21.6 percent of electricity generation coming from geothermal, solar, wind, biomass and hydroelectric power sources. Of that <a href="https://www.eia.gov/state/?sid=NV" target="_blank">mix of renewables</a>, 44 percent came from geothermal. But solar could be huge for the state. The U.S. Energy Information Administration said Nevada has the "nation's <a href="https://www.eia.gov/state/analysis.php?sid=NV" target="_blank">best solar power</a> potential."</p><p>Question 6 could force Nevada to realize some of that potential. If it passes, the renewable portfolio standard would gradually step up each year to 50 percent by 2030.</p><p>Last year the Nevada legislature passed a bill (Assembly Bill 206) that would have upped the renewable portfolio standard to 40 percent by 2030, but it was vetoed by Republican Gov. Brian Sandoval.</p><p>In Arizona the current renewable portfolio standard is a more modest 15 percent by 2025. In 2016 renewables provided 12 percent of net generation in the state, about half of which came from hydroelectric power at Glen Canyon and Hoover dams on the Colorado River. Solar made up only 5 percent.</p><p>"Arizonans are going to actually vote on having the ability to tap a resource that they have an abundance of, which is the sun," says Art Terrazas, who leads Vote Solar Action Fund's efforts in Arizona.</p><p>The state is second only to Nevada in solar potential.</p><p>Both ballot initiatives are being bankrolled by billionaire and climate activist Tom Steyer's NextGen Climate Action. The group has raised $2 million for the effort in Nevada, where opposition has been slim. However, in <a href="https://ballotpedia.org/Arizona_Proposition_127,_Renewable_Energy_Standards_Initiative_(2018)" target="_blank">Arizona</a>, NextGen has raised $8 million and its opposition, Pinnacle West Capital Corporation, which owns the state's largest utility, has raised $11 million.</p><p>"There has been a history of utilities in the state wanting to maintain the status quo," says Terrazas.</p><p>Among other western states, California and Hawaii currently lead clean energy efforts. Both have committed to get 100 percent of electricity generation from renewables by 2045. Oregon's standard is 50 percent by 2040 for larger utilities, and Washington's is 15 percent by 2020. Neither Utah nor Idaho has renewable portfolio standards.</p><p>Solar energy is an issue that draws big public support and is beginning to bridge the divide between red and blue voters, says Holland.</p><p>"Voters over and over are seeing that clean energy is increasingly cheaper than sources of energy like coal and want to make sure that their states aren't left behind," he said.</p><p> <em>Reposted with permission from our media associate </em><em><a href="https://therevelator.org/environmental-ballot-initiatives/" target="_blank">The Revelator</a>.</em></p>
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