If you’ve been keeping up with the news on the candidates for the 2020 U.S. presidential elections, you may have heard of Washington’s governor, Jay Inslee, and his plan to wage war on climate change and make it a number one priority for the country. In response to those who believe stimulating the economy to be a more pressing matter for our government, Inslee claims, “climate change is not more important than the economy–it is the economy” (cnn.com).
As Inslee explains, his mission to combat climate change consists of four main goals. Firstly, he plans to power the economy with 100% renewable energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions completely. Secondly, he wants to stimulate the new green economy by creating millions of jobs and “making massive investments in clean energy development and deployment.” Next, he wants to focus on inclusion and social justice in this economic transition, “those who are hit by climate change first and worst are the first to benefit.” Finally and most importantly, he wants to stop supporting big fossil fuel and greenhouse-gas-emitting industries once and for all.
In a time when numerous conservative politicians continue to deny the ominous signs of climate change and our current president has chosen to opt out of the monumental Paris Agreement (climateanalytics.org), Inslee’s platform seems refreshingly realistic about the serious ecological issues facing the planet today. However, his plan seems almost foolishly optimistic as well. Inslee is aware that big fossil fuel industries are not going to go down without a serious fight, and that there will be a lot of pushback in his administration’s attempt to form a greener government. Despite these roadblocks, Inslee seems ready to step up to the plate.
Finding a solution to combat rising sea levels, extreme weather patterns, and bio-erosion seems to be far more important to younger Americans, since it is us that will be left with the consequences of abusing the earth’s natural resources (climateadvocacylab.org). If there is anything that we need the country to agree on more than ever, it’s the war on climate change.
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