Which candidate is greener? (Meaning who has better ideas on fixing climate change and environmental issues—Trump vs Clinton— or maybe they are both equally bad?)
While Clinton’s stated positions on climate change and environmental issues are better than Trump’s, that’s kind of like saying death by strangulation is better than death by gunshot, because even if she follows through on her pledges Clinton will not come close to preventing climate meltdown. The scientific consensus is clear that we have a very short window to cut down dramatically on the pollution that is driving climate change, and Clinton’s “all-of-the-above” energy strategy and promotion of fracking will continue driving our world toward the climate cliff.
Why isn’t the climate change a big topic among candidates?
Climate change is sidelined by the Democratic and Republican parties because they are both funded by corporate interests, including fossil fuel companies and Wall Street banks, who have vested financial interests in the unsustainable status quo that is rapidly destroying our planet as a livable environment for humanity. Follow the money funding their parties, and it’s easy to understand why both Clinton and Trump pretend that maintaining a relative handful of insecure jobs in the fossil fuel industry is somehow better for our country than creating millions of jobs to transition our society to a sustainable future where we can survive and thrive.
What are your views on climate change/environmental issues? What needs to be done?
Climate change is the greatest existential threat humanity has ever faced. We need to enact an emergency Green New Deal, a WWII-scale national mobilization to turn the tide on climate change, revive the economy and make wars for oil obsolete. The Green New Deal will create 20 million jobs by transitioning to 100% clean renewable energy by 2030 and investing in public transit, sustainable agriculture, conservation and restoration of critical infrastructure, including ecosystems. A critical part of the Green New Deal will be a Just Transition that empowers those communities and workers most impacted by climate change and the transition to a green economy. The Just Transition will ensure that any worker displaced by the shift away from fossil fuels will receive full income and benefits as they transition to equivalent alternative work.
On the global level, we support a strong global climate treaty that limits global warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius and is binding, unlike the voluntary Paris climate deal.
The Green New Deal will not only solve the crises of climate change and unemployment, it will tackle our other environmental crises that we now see in places like Flint, Michigan. We will clean up America by investing in clean air, water, food and soil for everyone, and enacting stronger environmental justice laws. We will also take strong measures to protect our public lands, water supplies, biological diversity, parks, and pollinators.