It’s a polling truism that most people are concerned about climate change – or, more accurately, climate disruption, or climate chaos – but not concerned enough that they base their votes on the issue. You might hope, however, that that largely reflects the fact that most people just haven’t thought about climate change much; they know vaguely that it’s something to be concerned about, but that’s about as far as it goes. By contrast, I would have thought that politically engaged people who have made public statements about climate disruption would understand that it’s too important an issue to ignore when they’re deciding who to vote for.
Great piece. You can add that the MSM does not get it. They always seem to forget to mention climate in the Presidential debates. Here in Oregon it is always an after-thought during interviews and other political debates. As for our business club members, the answer is obvious. They only think about it when it comes to green washing their organizations, not when it comes to making personal sacrifices or driving their political positions.
If it makes you feel better I am a strong Tina Kotek supporter. If she loses in the primary, I gave 5 minutes of thought to maybe voting for Betsy Johnson because I think she would do a good administrative housecleaning and force more accountability in the bureaucracy. It is her position on global warming that got me back to saying I cannot vote for her.
I understand your frustration with the perceived lack of urgency in enacting policies that reduce Oregon's carbon emissions, but the truth of the matter is that Oregon by itself adds an insignificant amount of carbon into the atmosphere, and therefore cannot have any measurable impact by reducing its contribution alone. This is the reason why raising costs on Oregonians to reduce carbon by a globally immeasurable amount is irresponsible. For Oregon to have an impact on climate change we need to employ a global strategy that leverages the strengths of our state. I wrote about this in The Oregon Way last year.
Ah, so now its climate disruption. I see, if you cant change minds ,just keep changing the verbiage until something sticks. I believe that we all need to do what we can to keep the planet clean. At our house we installed solar, we drive efficient cars, we have cut back our use of plastics, we recycle. But please tell me just how the power is going to be made for EVs when the percentage of EVs go from the current 3-5% to 70-80%. Where is that power coming from? Hideous wind farms plaguing eastern Oregon? Solar installations covering prime Willamette Valley soils? Tearing out dams? Oh wait that only reduces greatly the energy production . What are the answers to these questions? No you dont have those answers. So why put the politicians on the spot in this regard. But its easier to create a crisis to get your base going isn't it? If more were done to have solid answers to energy questions maybe the concerns for our planet could be a platform to problem solving not another lightning rod to political division. What is the truth after all in how much difference the state of Oregon can make when we are already taking steps to clean our environment? Yes we should do better, but the overall effect is minimal.
Great piece. You can add that the MSM does not get it. They always seem to forget to mention climate in the Presidential debates. Here in Oregon it is always an after-thought during interviews and other political debates. As for our business club members, the answer is obvious. They only think about it when it comes to green washing their organizations, not when it comes to making personal sacrifices or driving their political positions.
If it makes you feel better I am a strong Tina Kotek supporter. If she loses in the primary, I gave 5 minutes of thought to maybe voting for Betsy Johnson because I think she would do a good administrative housecleaning and force more accountability in the bureaucracy. It is her position on global warming that got me back to saying I cannot vote for her.
Thanks, Steve. I wish your comments were more widely published. How about challenging Steve Duin to a duel?
Elsa Porter
Hi Steve,
I understand your frustration with the perceived lack of urgency in enacting policies that reduce Oregon's carbon emissions, but the truth of the matter is that Oregon by itself adds an insignificant amount of carbon into the atmosphere, and therefore cannot have any measurable impact by reducing its contribution alone. This is the reason why raising costs on Oregonians to reduce carbon by a globally immeasurable amount is irresponsible. For Oregon to have an impact on climate change we need to employ a global strategy that leverages the strengths of our state. I wrote about this in The Oregon Way last year.
https://theoregonway.substack.com/p/what-should-oregons-role-be-in-addressing?s=r
Best Regards,
Jessica.
Ah, so now its climate disruption. I see, if you cant change minds ,just keep changing the verbiage until something sticks. I believe that we all need to do what we can to keep the planet clean. At our house we installed solar, we drive efficient cars, we have cut back our use of plastics, we recycle. But please tell me just how the power is going to be made for EVs when the percentage of EVs go from the current 3-5% to 70-80%. Where is that power coming from? Hideous wind farms plaguing eastern Oregon? Solar installations covering prime Willamette Valley soils? Tearing out dams? Oh wait that only reduces greatly the energy production . What are the answers to these questions? No you dont have those answers. So why put the politicians on the spot in this regard. But its easier to create a crisis to get your base going isn't it? If more were done to have solid answers to energy questions maybe the concerns for our planet could be a platform to problem solving not another lightning rod to political division. What is the truth after all in how much difference the state of Oregon can make when we are already taking steps to clean our environment? Yes we should do better, but the overall effect is minimal.