Democratic candidates at all levels are being confronted with existential questions about life as we know it on our planet. The global environmental crisis continues, and faced with tons of compelling data, the time to act is now. Conservatives, especially fundamentalist Christians, continue to adopt the viewpoint that even if we accept a climate crisis, that it is a moment to abdicate our role and, well, ask for God to intervene. From The Washington Post:
“As a Christian, I believe that there is a creator in God who is much bigger than us,” Rep. Tim Walberg (R-Mich.) told constituents last week at a town hall in Coldwater, Mich. “And I’m confident that, if there’s a real problem, he can take care of it.”
Among conservative evangelicals, that is not an unusual opinion. Nearly all evangelicals — 88 percent, according to the Pew Research Center on Religion & Public Life — believe in miracles, suggesting a faith in a proactive God. And only 28 percent of evangelicals believe human activity is causing climate change. Confidence that God will intervene to prevent people from destroying the world is one of the strongest barriers to gaining conservative evangelical support for environmental pacts like the Paris agreement.
With conservatives seemingly standing back and yelling “it’s OK” to push policies that could doom future generations to a bleak future that could include generations of environmental repair or permanent wreckage of our biosphere, members of the Democratic National Committee see the need for our party to adopt a strong stance on environmental issues.
The creation of a Democratic debate with a focus on climate change is certainly a start — and a reason why I became an early signer of that resolution. A single act, even a presidential debate, however, does not provide us a chance to continue to raise the profile of an issue that can determine our future.
For this reason, in San Francisco, several DNC members are calling for the creation of a means to give the discussion of this issue a permanent place at the Democratic table.
Proposed: Resolution Establishing the DNC Environmental and Climate Crisis Council
Submitted by: Michelle Deatrick, Michigan
Chris Reeves, Kansas
Larry Cohen, Maryland
Jane Fleming Kleeb, Chair, Nebraska
Yasmine Taeb, Virginia
Doug Ballard, Arizona
Tanya Shively, Oregon
Martha McDevitt, Democrats Abroad
Michael Kapp, California
Lavora Barnes, Chair, Michigan
Adrianne George Democrats Abroad
Kenneth Sherman, Democrats Abroad
Howard Chou, Vice Chair, Colorado
John Eastwood, Democrats Abroad
Elly Zaragoza, Minnesota
This is a partial list of co-sponsors
WHEREAS, the right of current and future generations to a liveable planet is a human right; and
WHEREAS, the climate crisis poses an existential threat to our planet, to our nation, and to all people — and is the paramount issue of our time; and
WHEREAS, scientific evidence is clear that in America and across the world, the health, safety and lives of millions are threatened by the increasing frequency and severity of disasters directly related to the human-caused climate crisis, including wildfire, flooding, drought, disease, pollution, record-breaking heat waves, hurricanes, tornadoes, and more; and
WHEREAS, the climate crisis destroys productivity and jobs, and as the latest federal Climate Assessment states, will damage and disrupt the American economy across a wide spectrum of sectors, with resultant losses of millions of jobs and, in some sectors, of hundreds of billions of dollars annually, by 2100; and
WHEREAS, the failure to protect our environment and to address the climate crisis is a racial, social, and economic issue, with disproportionate impacts on people of lower income and people of color, and internationally on underdeveloped countries; and
WHEREAS, all environmental issues including the climate crisis are intergenerational justice issues, with profound permanent implications not only for us, but for future generations, whose water, land, air, soil, and biodiverse planet we hold in trust; and
WHEREAS, environmental issues including the climate crisis pose great challenges and also great opportunities, with the potential for millions of new, good-paying jobs in this country alone; and
WHEREAS, the Democratic Party’s 2018 Charter & Bylaws states a commitment to a fair society in which a healthy environment is possible for all; and
WHEREAS, the 2016 Democratic Party Platform calls for protecting our environment and tackling the climate challenge, creating millions of good-paying middle class jobs, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, securing environmental and climate justice, upholding the Paris Agreement, and ensuring that Democrats taking the lead on climate issues have the resources they need; and
WHEREAS, the DNC has previously established councils and committees for Poverty, Small Businesses, and Rural Communities; and
WHEREAS, the DNC has no formal or informal organizational structure that addresses this preeminent challenge of our era;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the DNC establish an Environmental and Climate Crisis Council which shall enable members of the Democratic National Committee as well as members of the wider Democratic community to discuss, deliberate, support, and further our Democratic commitment to protecting the environment; to uphold environmental and intergenerational justice; and to address the defining issue of our time, the climate crisis.
Too many are framing the environmental debate within our own party as support for the Green New Deal, or any specific policy. In reality, environmental crisis efforts within our party have to focus far more on raising immediate awareness and looking at policies drafted from city councils, statehouses and the federal government for opportunities to provide opportunities for positive change for the environment and the creation of jobs while we save the planet.
There is no simple one-step legislative solution. We cannot sit by and hope for a miracle, whether it is technological or divine intervention.
For our children and their children, the time to act is now.