PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • July 16, 2024
The climate crisis is here and it is now. Two imperatives should be top of mind when we cast votes for President and Congress: first, we must ramp up the worldwide commitment to cut greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to climate destruction; second, the U.S. must be a leader. Recall the Biden Administration’s accomplishments. The Infrastructure Act and Inflation Reduction Act are inducing hundreds of billions of private investments – and creating thousands of high paying jobs – in renewable energy, battery storage, carbon capture, and electrical infrastructure. The United States rejoined the UN’s Paris Climate Agreement and has led in forging an ambitious methane reduction strategy and ramping-up clean energy assistance to low-income countries. Trump’s first term, in contrast, is remembered for global warming denial, coal industry support and “drill, drill, drill” cheerleading for oil and gas exploration. Trump pulled the U.S. out of the Paris Agreement. By defeating Trumpism, we can sustain climate progress – and hope for coming generations. ~ David Vail, professor of economics emeritus, Bowdoin College