Signs at the 2016 Republican National Convention read, “Trump Digs Coal.” After his administration’s failure to deliver on his promise to save coal jobs, those signs were nowhere in sight at the GOP confab last week. Instead, the love went to Big Oil.
President Trump and his supporting cast praised the supposed climb in domestic oil and gas production. They falsely painted the Biden call for transition to a clean energy economy over the coming decades as a looming economic apocalypse for states like Pennsylvania and Texas.
Politically, it’s no surprise that swing states like Pennsylvania (a major producer of fracked natural gas) and increasingly competitive Texas (home base for much of the oil industry) would be among those targeted for these warnings. However, the degree to which convention speakers uniformly praised the goal of increasing fossil fuel production, discounted the economic value of renewable energy, and scoffed at the reality of the climate crisis was noteworthy. All were disturbing signs of how its new orthodoxy of burning more hydrocarbons has consumed one of our two major political parties.
Nationwide, citizen environmental groups are drawing attention to the stark contrast between the two parties’ takes on fossil fuel reliance versus renewable energy development. We can expect to see this issue hold many voters’ attention in 2020 to a degree unprecedented in American presidential politics.
The contrast holds true below the presidential slot on the ballot as well. Our U.S. Sen. Thom Tillis continues to parrot Trump talking points on climate and clean energy, and has failed to act to protect our state. You can take four easy actions to hold him accountable:
- Tell him to promote homegrown clean energy jobs in the next COVID relief bill being debated in the Senate right now.
- Push him to sponsor the Senate Clean Economy Act to establish 100% Clean Energy for All by 2050.
- Urge him to stand up against Trump’s rollback of clean car standards which clean our air and save us on gas prices.
- Ask that he fight Trump’s drive to drill off our coast!
