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Climate change did not take center stage during this week’s presidential election; it was not even visible in the wings or in the theater. Instead, the US chose a candidate with a history of rolling back environmental protections and has openly spoken of his desire to “create, baby, dig” for more fossil fuels.
“When push comes to shove, there are voters across the country who care about protecting the environment and cleaning up pollution.”
But a few polls have shown that in many areas, voters are interested in climate change and conservation. “There’s no sugarcoating” the results of the presidential election or the Republican takeover of the Senate, said Justin Balik, senior director of government programs for the advocacy group Evergreen Action. But “when push comes to shove, there are voters across the country who care about protecting the environment and cleaning up pollution, especially when it’s defined in concrete, specific terms.”
In Minnesota, for example, voters overwhelmingly approved a constitutional amendment to continue allocating at least 40 percent of the state’s lottery proceeds to an environmental and natural resource trust fund until 2050. Since its inception in 1988, the fund has contributed hundreds of millions of dollars to more than 1,700 projects across the country – including local parks, maintenance of the Superior Hiking Trail along Lake Superior, and a wolf conservation center in Ely, Minnesota.
The fund has supported “everything from data collection that we all use in our work, to running projects on the ground, as well as many things in the clean energy space,” said Kris Larson, CEO of the Minnesota Land nonprofit. Trust. He specifically mentioned its contribution to research at the University of Minnesota and affiliated institutions on how climate change affects lake water quality and the number of birds and plants.
The amendment also creates a new public assistance program that supports environmental education and “helps adversely affected communities respond to environmental degradation and related health problems.”
“It really shows that, at least in Minnesota, protecting the outdoors is a very important thing,” said Liz Deering, director of communications for the nonprofit organization Conservation Minnesota.
“What does this mean for the air you breathe, this makes your power accessible, this makes your community safe?”
Similar efforts to support conservation or climate resilience have been passed in California, Colorado, Louisiana and Rhode Island. Balik said they were successful because they conveyed the concrete benefits of environmental action: “What does this mean for the air you breathe, how does this make your energy cheaper, what does this mean for the community of How is your country safe?”
In California, Proposition 4 allowed the state to borrow $10 billion for several environmental projects, including mitigating the state’s worst drought in 1,200 years and made more likely by climate change. they are people. The money will also finance efforts to prevent wildfires and protect coastal areas from rising sea levels. The proposal in Colorado approved the use of tax revenue from sports betting – which is legal in the state from 2020 – for water conservation and control purposes. Rhode Islanders received $53 million in federal loans for projects related to flood prevention, coastal restoration and forest health. And in Louisiana, voters supported a constitutional amendment that would require state money from offshore energy sources — including wind, solar and wave power, including oil and gas — to be put into a renewable energy fund. the beach
Joshua Basseches, an assistant professor of public policy and environmental studies at Tulane University, told Grist the Louisiana fund “has a difficult task in combating soil erosion exacerbated by climate change and thereby improving sustainability of the country’s economy and the welfare of its people.
“The change is also an acknowledgment that renewable energy is the future, and that even though Louisiana is an oil and gas country, it wants to have a role in the future,” he added.
Balik, who owns Evergreen Action, said the ballot initiative will help advance climate and environmental issues during a second Trump administration. “The presidential vote — I don’t think many people would call it a referendum on clean energy or the climate agenda,” he said. “The reasons why people vote the way they do are multifaceted,” but people tend to favor green policies when the issues are divided.
B. Rosas, director of policy for the nonprofit Minnesota Climate Association, said that the passage of ballot measures related to climate and the environment – as well as several initiatives that affirm the rights to have children and raising the minimum wage – has been a bright spot for what it once was. A tough week for the weather movement.
They said: “It sends the message that people want these progressive policies that will not only protect their well-being, but also the well-being of our planet.”
—Joseph Winters (@josephbwinters), Grist
This article was originally published Grist at https://grist.org/politics/environment-conservation-climate-resilience-ballot-initaitives-election/
Grist is an independent media organization dedicated to telling stories about climate solutions and a sustainable future. Learn more at Grist.org
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