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Single-issue voting is problematic at many levels. But if one issue were to deserve that type of consideration, climate action would be it—because the sustainability of the human race depends on it.
Will climate change play a pivotal role in the 2020 elections? Perhaps. But it is more likely that the 2020 elections will play a pivotal role on climate action.
And that is one more reason why this president absolutely cannot be re-elected. His words and actions speak volumes on his lack of interest to acknowledge, much less tackle, the climate crisis. In fact, he is actively contributing to aggravate it, by rolling back fundamental environmental protections.
When our country elected a president who described climate change as a Chinese hoax, many of us cringed (in concern for environmental and human sustainability, and far beyond).
When that president declared his intention to remove the US from the Paris Climate Agreement, we stood in disbelief (and, yes, in protest).
When a teenager activist does more for climate action than the US president, we cheer her and the youth movement she is inspiring—while no longer being surprised that this president chooses, next week, to skip* the UN Climate Action Summit in New York (instead leading a parallel event on religious freedom).
When Al Gore writes an Opinion article to the New York Times , where he unsurprisingly comes across as knowledgeable and realistic about the depth of the crisis, yet optimistic about our ability to still have the technical and (hopefully) political tools to address it—we pause, and wonder what could have been, should Al Gore have not lost Florida to George W. Bush.
Al Gore’s article is also, and fundamentally, a reminder that voting matters, deeply. For our planet, our humanity, and the next generations, let’s not forget this in 2020. Please, don’t let ideological details derail a massive repudiation of this president, and his lack of care for the Earth we all live in.
Please join me, and many other non-affiliated voters like me, in voting for the Democratic nominee (whoever that will turn out to be). All current Democratic candidates stand head and shoulders above this president in a wide range of issues—and certainly on climate action.
— Antonio Baptista
* Unlike it had been announced at the time of the writing of this article, the US president did attend the UN Climate Summit–but reportedly stayed for only about 15 minutes.
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