A few weeks ago, President Trump signed an executive order that nullifies Obama-era environmental efforts and seeks to revive the coal industry. While it is not an official exit from the Paris Climate Agreement of 2016, this executive order will make it impossible for the U.S. to meet clean energy goals. What disturbs me most about this executive order is its arbitrariness. It is a political statement, nothing more. It only serves to further polarize and impede bipartisan efforts to find solutions to climate change. When we communicate about the environment simply as a political issue, we undermine the people and places affected by its degeneration.
Throughout President Trump’s campaign, he vowed to repeal the Obama-era Clean Power Plan and prioritize fossil fuel industry jobs over renewable energy jobs, a statement that appealed to many conservative voters. Though they applauded the executive order, most coal miners do not expect the coal industry to return to its peak due to dwindling reserves and market forces. This executive order’s purported victory is therefore almost entirely symbolic, but its effects will be real for the environment and the U.S. as a country. With the way cleared for the fossil fuel economy, environmental regulations that protect our health and our resources are tossed aside.
The environment has long been a political pressure point in America. Climate change and conservation efforts have been cast as liberal issue. Friction between conservation efforts and corporate interests have reinforced that idea. However, this is an illusion, since environmental issues represent threats to just as many conservative values as liberal values. According to the U.S. military, climate change poses a significant threat to national security. Loss of crops due to climate change damages regional and national economies, which in turn threatens the job market. This shows that our words and actions surrounding issues of the environment have a direct impact on the environment itself. When people accept the idea that caring for the environment is solely a liberal cause, they miss some basic realities.
Why are we divided? On this one, we really can’t afford to be. While both liberals and conservatives are out attacking political symbols, our real Earth and real, vulnerable people are suffering. Some claim climate change is a hoax, and others delude themselves into thinking since they believe in climate change they are not part of the problem. Both ignore what we have in common, and make working together for positive change difficult. We are all inheritors of this Earth and its problems.
This polarization surrounding environmental issues discourages me, but there is hope. For the past few months, I have been calling Republican Congressman, Tom Reed, about climate change. Congressman Reed, I might add, is an avid supporter of President Trump. At first, I didn’t understand how to communicate about environmental issues with someone who I assumed would dismiss me out of hand. I kept trying, however, even attending a town hall meeting that involved standing outside in the mud for three hours surrounded by a hundred shouting people. I respected the Congressman’s calm demeanor during this event, yet I was bewildered and disappointed to see many liberal constituents and the conservative Congressman essentially speaking different languages on some issues.
I didn’t give up on trying to learn to communicate more effectively, however, because I believe we have more in common than we are led to believe. A month ago, I was encouraged to learnCongressman Reed had signed onto the Republican Climate Resolution, which states climate change is a legitimate threat that requires action. A few weeks ago, I experienced something even more concretely affirming. After calling Congressman Reed for months asking him to join the Bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus, I received the news that he had done just that. Cooperation is possible! We can think rationally about the environment and listen to people instead of allowing political stereotypes to control our behavior. We can accomplish things that benefit all of us.