A hot topic this election year has been climate change, as Americans have seen the damaging effects it has had on our environment. In the Western part of the States particularly, candidates’ position on climate change is playing into who people decide to vote for. States like Kansas are experiencing harsh effects such as wildfires, droughts, and severe weather. This not only affects the health of people, but it is severely affecting the economies of states that depend on agriculture.
With rising temperatures and decreasing rainfall, Kansas is expected to experience longer droughts and scarcer water availability. Both farming and urban areas rely on rainfall as their primary source of water, meaning the whole state will suffer from climate change. Severe weather storms and wildfires cause billions of dollars in damages and hurt crop yields.
According to Yale’s 2020 Climate Opinion poll:
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72% of Kansas adults believe global warming is happening
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57% believe global warming is caused mostly by human activities
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63% say they are worried about global warming
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86% support funding research into renewable energy sources
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75% support regulating CO2 as a pollutant
Barbara Bollier (D) and Roger Marshall (R) are currently in a tight Senate race to fill the vacancy being left by Pat Roberts (R) and both take opposite positions when it comes to climate change in Kansas.
Marshall’s Position on Climate Change
Marshall surprisingly attended the same medical school as Bollier but has failed to recognize global warming as a serious threat like Bollier has.
During his time as a Congressman, Marshall has been a loyal ally of Trump, voting along with the President 98% of the time and continuously voting against environmental bills. Back in 2017, he supported the U.S. pulling out of The Paris Agreement and questioned if climate change was real or not. Most scientists not only recognize global warming, but agree that it is mostly caused by human activity.
Legislation to increase funding for renewable energy R&D may cost money now, but ignoring climate change costs much more and while the Trump administration has cut funding for environmental research, clean energy promotion, and public land protections, environmental conditions have been deteriorating.
Electing Marshall to a higher office could create a Congress that leads the country further away from the path we have been following.
Bollier’s Position on Climate Change
Marshall often claims Bollier is too liberal for Kansas, but she comes from the same medical background as Marshall and only recently left the Republican party (in 2018). Bollier does not support the Green New Deal as it is currently written, but she does support a comprehensive plan to reduce carbon emissions and address water shortages.
Bollier believes in investing in green energy opportunities to create jobs and promote a clean energy economy in Kansas, especially with wind energy. Wind energy is obviously cleaner and cheaper than coal and Bollier says Kansas has the second highest potential for wind energy production in the United States.
The League of Conservation Voters (LCV) and The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) have both endorsed Bollier for the U.S. Senate based on her scientific background and voting record for Kansas’ environment.
"Kansan farmers love to feed and power the nation. I'll listen to our farmers and be their voice in the Senate, working to promote the farm bill and combat climate change." -@BarbaraBollier
Let’s help elect a Senator who is going to fight for a clean, safe environment for future generations. We cannot keep letting big Oil industries dominate politics.
Support Barbara Bollier