Climate crisis issues impact voters now - Jamestown Sun

Climate crisis issues impact voters now - Jamestown Sun | News, weather, sports from Jamestown North Dakota

Climate crisis issues impact voters now

Climate crisis! It’s here now, and voters need to get involved.

We all talk about the climate crisis and many of us truly worry about the suffering it will impose not only on ourselves but on future generations.

This election year, we need to get serious and ask our candidates about their views and values regarding this topic. It’s not going away, especially if we don’t address it seriously at all candidate levels.

Some people think it’s not a local, district or state-level issue. But it is. Every time we buy products encased in plastic, buy a gallon of gas, throw compostable organic matter in the garbage, or turn on the heat or air conditioning in our homes we are contributing to the climate crisis worldwide. This is not a partisan issue. We need to hold all candidates responsible and ask what they intend to do at whatever level of office for which they are running.

Scientists know that fossil fuels are the biggest contributor to the climate crisis. Well, North Dakota is a big supplier of fossil fuels (oil, gas and coal), making us a big contributor to the problem. How quickly can we transition from fossil fuels to cleaner energy such as wind, solar, and/or geothermal? Are candidates willing to stand up to fossil-fuel giants or will they continue “business as usual?”

Will jobs be affected? Yes, and a clean-energy economy may well bring an increase in total jobs. Millions of workers will be needed to save our planet from carbon dioxide, deforestation, and plastic poisoning in our oceans, landfills and our own bodies.

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We need to look at the big picture. Will we cripple future generations with the problems we have created since the Industrial Revolution? It’s our responsibility to act now to solve this crisis. Will it take sacrifice? Yes, undoubtedly. But we are stewards of this planet. As the saying goes “there is no Plan B” when it comes to the earth.

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