Energy

4 Reasons Why The U.S. Election Matters So Much For Climate Change


The U.S. Presidential elections are Tuesday. It is an important election for many reasons. As an atmospheric scientist, it was refreshing to see more focus on climate change in this election cycle. It, however, is not a novelty. It is absolutely necessary. Most science-attentive people understand the wide-reaching fingerprint of climate change, but the average citizen may not make the connections to their daily lives or “kitchen table” issues. For example, household grocery budgets feel the impact of drought in the U.S. breadbasket region or Central Valley of California. Climate change directly affects the economy, public health, infrastructure, agricultural productivity, extreme weather, energy, national security, water supply and more. By the way, planet Earth is also our only option for habitability for the foreseeable future. Here is a guide to four climate change implications of the upcoming U.S. Presidential Election.

The Paris Climate Agreement – Stay or Go? In 2019, the U.S. started the process of withdrawing from the Paris Agreement. The current administration based this decision on the “unfair burden to U.S.” argument often used from certain perspectives. The agreement seeks to keep global temperature rise below 2 degrees C (and preferably 1.5 degrees C) by limiting greenhouse gas emissions and a climate resilience strategy. The U.S. cannot official withdraw from the Paris Agreement until November 4th, 2020. The outcome of the election will ultimately determine whether the U.S. should “stay or go” in the immortal words of one of my favorite groups, The Clash.

NOAA and the National Climate Assessment. In recent weeks, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) leadership was shaken up by new appointments. The New York Times, just this week, documented the abrupt removal of Acting Chief Scientist Craig McLean. It further documents a strategy to undermine NOAA climate science leadership and its influence on the U.S. National Climate Assessment. The National Climate Assessment (NCA) emerged during the President George H.W. Bush administration and from the Global Change Research Act of 1990. The law specifically mandates a national assessment of climate at least every four years. NOAA plays a key role in the NCA process and science input. If you are not familiar with how federal agencies work, political appointees are sprinkled throughout them. They are often supporters of candidates who are being rewarded for previous support or contributions. While agencies have capable and experienced career civil servants in leadership roles, political appointees often swoop in with enormous influence on policy and strategy. They serve at the pleasure of the Administration. The leadership of NOAA and its little cadre of political appointees will very much depend on the outcome of this election.

The role of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). Beth Burger wrote it very simply in USA Today this week, “Election Day will be a decision between deregulation or re-regulation.” She documents the current Administration and its changes to EPA rules on water, air, and energy. Former EPA Administrators, both Republicans and Democrats, recently described activities within the EPA over the past four years as being at war with the environment. In 2018, Time magazine documented what the EPA website looked like under a year of what it called “climate change censorship.” The direction of the EPA on climate change is on the ballot Tuesday.

The integrity and credibility of science expertise. I am not naive. I completely understand that political gamesmanship and posturing are done by all politicians. However, I never thought that it would be considered bad or irresponsible for a policymaker to “listen to the actual scientists” on matters of……wait for it……SCIENCE. Unfortunately, we live in an era of Confirmation Bias (seeking information that supports what they already believe), Dunning-Kruger Effect (people overestimating how much they know about topics and underestimating what they don’t know), and Cognitive Bias that gives people the impression that a Tweet, Google search, Opinion Editorial, or conversation on a news channel carries as much (or more) weight as peer-reviewed scientific literature or years of scientific expertise. Coronavirus has revealed the importance of listening to early science warnings and that medical advancements will ultimately move us beyond it. As a climate scientist, there are so many parallels to dismissal of warnings about extreme weather, sea level rise, geopolitical threat multiplication, climate refuges, economic impact, water scarcity, and health. Science is not our enemy. It is our friend.

There are numerous other things that could have been discussed in this unofficial guide. For example, both major parties have very different perspectives on the proposed Green New Deal. I wrote a “101” about it last year, and something tells me that it will be on the table for the foreseeable future.

I end with links to the climate perspectives of President Donald Trump and Vice President Joe Biden for your consideration.

Just Vote….



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