October 31, 2024
4 min read
Vote for a Healthy Climate for Our Children
The 2024 presidential election will have enormous consequences for the climate, and the health and future of children
Tourists walked on the National Mall as smoke from wildfires in Canada caused an acrid smell and hazy conditions in Washington, DC, on June 7, 2023. Washington authorities warned that the air quality was “unhealthy for people with heart or lung disease, older adults, children and teens” and canceled all outdoor activities in public schools, including sports lessons.
Saul Loeb/AFP via Getty Images
For America’s children, the coming election will be one of the most consequential in our nation’s history. Climate change is taking a huge toll on children’s health, and the election will determine whether we continue to curb fossil fuel pollution and slow global warming, or whether we reverse the hard-won achievements of recent years with catastrophic consequences.
The Republican candidate, former president Donald Trump, has dismissed global warming as a “scam” and has vowed if elected to vigorously expand drilling for oil and gas. He has pledged to roll back or repeal the clean energy and climate policies of the Biden administration, notably targeting the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) that has provided about $370 billion to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and transition to clean renewable energy. The deregulatory road map for a second Trump administration called “Project 2025” similarly features unlimited fossil fuel production, and a repeal of the IRA and other climate and environmental regulations.
In contrast, the Democratic candidate, Vice President Kamala Harris, describes climate change as an “existential” threat. As vice president she cast the tie-breaking vote allowing passage of the IRA and supported new emissions standards that will curb pollution from oil and gas operations, cars, trucks and dirty power plants. Harris announced more…
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