ANNA GAGLIANO
Chief Copy Editor
As the election draws near, it’s not very likely that there are many people left undecided on who they’re going to vote for. That being said, comparing potential policies and promises of the two presidential candidates is still vital and necessary. One issue of great importance is the climate crisis.
Let me preface this article by saying that the planet has just over a decade until the effects of climate change are irreversible and humankind will have to face the consequences of that. The U.S. plays a huge role in climate change, being the second largest producer of greenhouse gasses and emissions in the world. America needs a leader that understands the gravity of this and will commit to changing our ways through legislation before it’s too late.
In the most recent debate, Biden referred to climate change as an “existential threat,” and expressed the need for urgent change starting with legislation. A look on Biden’s campaign website reveals his extensive two trillion dollar plan to achieve 100% clean energy in the U.S. by 2050. Despite this, Trump still claimed it would cost 100 trillion during Thursday’s debate. In addition to Biden’s plan, he has expressed how he’d like the U.S. to be a role model for the fight against climate change among the other countries of the world. In short, the science of climate change is sound, and Biden believes it and has a concrete plan if he is elected.
On the other hand, Trump has changed his stance on climate change many times now. In 2009, he signed a letter that was published in the New York Times that called for legislation to fight climate change. A few years later in 2012 he was calling it a hoax created by the Chinese, though he’s since claimed that was a joke. In more recent years he has come to his conclusion that it is most certainly not a hoax, but that he doesn’t know if it’s man made — it is. Trump has yet to make any substantial plans for combating climate change other than saying that while he wants “very, very crystal clear clean water and clean air,” he doesn’t want to “close up our industry.” Which is a bit ironic, since it was his administration’s mishandling of the Coronavirus pandemic that led to the loss of 740,000 manufacturing jobs this year.
To avoid this job loss Trump believes will happen if the U.S. moves towards clean energy, Biden’s climate change plan encourages this shift and plans to create 10 million jobs in the clean energy industry. Not only is this more sustainable for the planet, it would strengthen the economy and could give many who lost their industrial or manufacturing jobs in the pandemic new hope.
Biden’s campaign website has a climate and energy section with three different subsections about handling the climate crisis, creating more clean energy and fighting against environmental injustices, which are able to happen more easily now since Trump repealed 99 EPA environmental rules. Many wetlands were stripped of protection, coal and oil industries were allowed to produce more pollution and some wildlife protections were erased. As a result, impoverished communities typically home to IPOC are more at risk to environmental pollutants.
All in all, when it comes to climate change, Trump seems to just want to talk about and argue against Biden’s plans and ideas instead of giving his own. A Google search can lead one to Biden’s environmental beliefs and potential policies, but Trump doesn’t seem to have any clear stance on helping the environment. His “promises kept” website does explain how he allowed oil and gas companies to “unleash” production in the U.S.
The U.S. needs a plan to protect our planet. To put it simply, Biden has one, Trump does not. That’s not a feeling, it’s a fact, and whether you choose to care or not is up to you, just don’t forget, we only have 10 more years for you to decide.
Find Biden’s Climate and Energy plans here.
Find Trump’s Energy and Environment promises kept here.