5 Resources to Help Make Your Vote Count for the Planet
The United Nations calls climate change “the defining issue of our times,” and asserts that we must make “rapid, far-reaching, and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society” to limit global warming to 1.5°C. Yet, only 42% of Americans polled by Pew in the late summer of 2020 consider climate change to be a very important issue on the 2020 ballot.
In order to make the necessary “unprecedented changes” to save our planet, we must vote in politicians who are taking action against climate change. We must also share our understanding of how crucial this is for our future with everyone we know.
Here are 5 resources that provide simple to navigate tools that will help you understand your representatives’ stance on climate action.
Vote Climate PAC Voter’s Guide
Vote Climate U.S. is a PAC that works to elect climate-action candidates to “get off fossil fuels, transition to clean, renewable, energy and reduce carbon pollution by putting a fee on carbon, in order to slow climate change and related weather extremes.” In their Voter’s Guide, Vote Climate PAC has given every incumbent and challenger for a seat in the U.S. House and U.S. Senate a climate calculation score based on their leadership and their position on a carbon fee. You can search the guide by zip code or representative name to find out if your candidates are climate heroes or climate zeroes.
League of Conservation Voters Scorecard
The LCV scorecard is an annual rating of members of congress on environmental, public health, and energy issues, including global warming, public lands and wildlife conservation that has been published since 1970. The ratings are created by environmental and conservation from many organizations. You can search the scorecard by state, zip code or representative name.
Patagonia Senate Recommendations
Outdoor clothing brand, Patagonia lays out a simple to navigate map of their recommendations for Senate, including a brief explanation of their stance environmental issues. Patagonia is officially endorsing four Senate candidates in Arizona, Maine, Montana, and North Carolina.
Greenpeace Presidential Candidate Scorecard
Greenpeace lays out a scorecard for each of the presidential candidates based on where they stand on the Green New Deal and saying no to fossil fuels, which they call “the recipe for addressing climate change before it’s too late.”
Sierra Club is endorsing the best Presidential, Senate and House candidates for the environment and lists them on a simple to navigate page for your reference.
Once you’ve selected the best candidates for climate action in your state, make sure you share these resources with everyone you know.
