Voting in a time of climate chaos
As the planet heats up, in large part because of the enormous amounts of coal, oil and gas we’re burning, hurricanes become deadlier. (Photo: S.C. Air National Guard via Flickr)
Disasters are indiscriminate when it comes to election cycles. People reeling from the devastation of Hurricane Helene in the southeastern United States are likely having a tough time focusing on the November election — some could even find voting difficult as polling locations and mail delivery have been disrupted. During last year’s Alberta election, several candidates had to suspend campaigns as wildfires raged through their communities.
Election outcomes, however, can make an enormous difference in crisis response and in the frequency and intensity of the instigating events. Governments are responsible for everything from warning people about storms and ensuring they’re kept safe to cleaning up after disasters.
Governments also have the power to enact policies that could prevent or reduce impacts caused by extreme weather, from building codes to climate policy.
Despite the increasing number and intensity of these climate-related events, voters usually rank the economy and health care as top priorities, with environment and climate somewhere down the list — regardless of whether it’s a provincial, state or national election. To some degree, that makes sense. Economics and health care are immediate concerns that affect people in tangible ways.
Election outcomes, however, can make an enormous difference in crisis response and in the frequency and intensity of the instigating events.
But environmental issues, especially climate change, are also economic and health issues. Treating them as separate concerns to be ranked in importance creates a misleading narrative. It also creates a disconnect between human activities and governance and droughts, floods, storms and other impacts.
Those who argue for less government and reduced government spending are often willing to sacrifice policies, programs and institutions that keep people safe during times of crisis. For example, the controversial Project 2025 plan in the U.S. calls for breaking up the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and National Weather Service, reviewing the National Hurricane Center’s work, privatizing the National Flood Insurance Program, shifting emergency spending from federal to state levels and downsizing the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, including disbanding much of its climate change research.
This could severely affect health and economic outcomes.
The economic impacts of climate-fuelled disasters are also skyrocketing.
The death toll from Hurricane Helene alone is now more than 200 and climbing. Scientists explain that warming oceans fuel hurricanes and cause more water to evaporate, increasing precipitation. As the planet heats up, in large part because of the enormous amounts of coal, oil and gas we’re burning, hurricanes become deadlier. This Category 4 hurricane is thought to be among the most powerful ever to hit the U.S.
Fossil fuel pollution and wildfire smoke exacerbate health issues such as asthma and contribute to increasing premature deaths. All of this affects personal and societal health care costs.
The economic impacts of climate-fuelled disasters are also skyrocketing. From rising grocery prices due to drought and flooding of agricultural lands and disaster-related supply chain issues to cleanup costs for devastating storms, the monetary impacts hit at personal and societal levels.
On the other hand, working to resolve the climate and other environmental crises offers tremendous economic benefits — from job creation to tax revenue. For example, the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act has spurred US$100 billion in private investment and created at least 100,000 jobs in clean energy manufacturing alone in just two years.
It’s clear that the climate and other environmental crises are increasingly costly to individuals, families, communities and society and that effective policies, programs and actions to address them offer countless economic and health benefits.
As we’ve written before, extensive research shows that investing in climate action reduces energy costs and makes energy markets less volatile, spurs technological development, cuts health care expenses, avoids costly impacts on everything from agriculture to urban infrastructure and creates greater economic opportunities for a wider range of people.
The urgent need to quickly shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy and to enact policies to reduce energy consumption shouldn’t even be a subject for political debate — and as recently as the late 1980s to early 1990s, it wasn’t politicized. The only debate should be about the best ways to make progress. It’s clear that the climate and other environmental crises are increasingly costly to individuals, families, communities and society and that effective policies, programs and actions to address them offer countless economic and health benefits.
Of course, ensuring our continued ability to survive should be the highest priority. We must extend our compassion and empathy and do all we can to help those affected by extreme weather events. But we must also ensure that our politics are guided by commitments to addressing their causes.
David Suzuki
David Suzuki, Co-Founder of the David Suzuki Foundation, is an award-winning scientist, environmentalist and broadcaster. David is renowned for his radio and television programs that explain the complexities of the natural sciences in a compelling, easily understood way.
Education
As a geneticist. David graduated from Amherst College (Massachusetts) in 1958 with an Honours BA in Biology, followed by a Ph.D. in Zoology from the University of Chicago in 1961. He held a research associateship in the Biology Division of Tennessee’s Oak Ridge National Lab (1961 – 62), was an Assistant Professor in Genetics at the University of Alberta (1962 – 63), and since then has been a faculty member of the University of British Columbia. He is now Professor Emeritus at UBC.
Awards
In 1972, he was awarded the E.W.R. Steacie Memorial Fellowship for the outstanding research scientist in Canada under the age of 35 and held it for three years. He has won numerous academic awards and holds 25 honourary degrees in Canada, the U.S. and Australia. He was elected to the Royal Society of Canada and is a Companion of the Order of Canada. Dr. Suzuki has written 52 books, including 19 for children. His 1976 textbook An Introduction to Genetic Analysis(with A.J.F. Griffiths), remains the most widely used genetics text book in the U.S.and has been translated into Italian, Spanish, Greek, Indonesian, Arabic, French and German.
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