@Dave A "Young activists? I’m pushing 60 and Biden ain’t coming close to delivering." Ha ha ha. @Dave A out of Portland said it first but it still holds for me, pushing 80. I want to see the activists & protesters taking it up some big peaceful notches; Strikes on Friday and plant & water trees on Saturday & Sunday. 4M activists planted trees each week would have an impact.
We can't just protest & we don't want the violence of Hong Kong (Yet). What we need is substance to our words & desires. Re-forestation is the answer to doing something no one with any sense can complain against. I know many are never going to buy this because there is work involved, not just spouting hot air. But work is what it takes to get it done and done right.
Mr Biden is a nice guy but he is NOT our answer at this time. The people are speaking clearly through The Blue Tsunami of 2020, which is being brought in by Senator Elizabeth Warren! Catch that wave everyone, it will do all America and the world good.
11
Biden, Pelosi, Nadler and Feinstein can't leave fast enough. These people are ineffective and need to leave.
3
"Nothing will fundamentally change."
3
Biden should be able to use his demonstrated skills to amass a fortune posing as an environmentalist. Perhaps Hunter could head up the Sierra Club.
2
We have a corrupt, narcissist, self dealing dope in the White House who has made a mockery of the EPA,
and some people think Biden isn’t green enough? Are you kidding me? Any Blue will do.
7
No, Biden isn’t good enough on climate issues? Let them vote for Trump then!
1
Biden's long, long record is of Mr. Corporate Sell Out who never once stood up for the things voters are now demanding finally be done.
He is from a small state that swims in corporate and insurance money, and has been on that that take for half a century (36 years in the Senate, and then 8 as VP).
Of course voters are unhappy with his record. To know it is to hate it.
6
Each day, Trump and his Republicans act to make our planet less & less inhabitable for our children and grandchildren.
The window of opportunity to effectively mitigate Climate Change is rapidly disappearing.
The remaining 2020 Democratic Candidates will try to cut & paste portions of Governor Jay Inslee’s comprehensive & actionable Climate Change Mitigation Plan.
We must go with the Real Deal.
The winning Democratic Party 2020 Ticket: President Warren (build a green economy) + Vice President Inslee (save a blue planet)! W+IN 2020!
5
It isn't "Biden's Record" that isn't enough - it is his tepid policy initiatives that protect the fossil fuel industry at the expense of the planet that are not enough. Just ask any climate scientist if you have any question about that. He doesn't want to do anything of consequence to solve a problem that he won't have to live with.
3
Biden is the wrong candidate for presidency. He lacks conviction and has a record that screams he shouldn't be trusted. Who cares about his plans? Is he the the only candidate who can lead an international effort against climate change? Look at the plan of Cory Booker, he is the man of the moment!
2
At some point, people will learn that sometimes, you have to set aside your moral outrage and make sure that someone who is on board with some of what you want beats the person who denies that the thing you see as the most pressing issue facing civilization is real, much less an immediate problem.
Don't allow the current administration or any of its followers to hold our country hostage for another 4 years. Giving people excuses not to support the Democratic nominee is handing the election over to him.
7
A carbon tax is regressive and it won't work.
The SCALE of the challenge of slowing and stopping the catastrophic harm to human civilization, and maybe even a 6th Extinction will require a mobilization of the Nations of the whole world. The physics of greenhouse gasses in the Earth's common atmosphere, saturated with fossil fuel combustion products requires a global effort.
Fossil fuels are facilitating economic growth, food production, industries and human population growth, now about 7.5 Billion, projected to reach 10 to 11 Billion by the end of the Century.
Therefore the mobilization will be equivalent or greater than the mobilization required to bring an end to WWII. The U.S. cannot solve this challenge alone. The scale will require an international program to research, develop and produce a non-fossil source of energy for less than any of the current fossil fuel sources, for the market to adopt.
My late colleague, Dr. James Powell, and I, believe the new source of energy can be generated with the photo voltaic effect of converting the Sun's energy to very cheap electricity.
Because of the SCALE, we believe more efficient solar cells can be developed, and we also believe that we can build an international system of satellites in geosynchronous orbit to capture the Sun's energy 24/7 and beam it to Earth grids. Thousands of satellites can be be launched with Maglev. Powell described this system and a system for capturing CO2 in "Silent Earth" and "Spaceship Earth".
1
@james jordan
Ms. Friedman when you consider the scale of replacing fossil fuels with non-fossil sources, it means that the a major portion of our investment capital must be deployed to the development of a successful solution. Jim Powell and I calculated the energy required for 10 Billion people to use just half of the energy that the current U.S. life style requires per person and you quickly realize that it will require that we develop alternative energy sources from every possible source. ground solar, efficient batteries, wind, geothermal, ocean technology plus the large number of concepts for scrubbing CO2 from the atmosphere. Clearly, we need a breakthrough, and lots of trial and error experiments to get a breakthrough.
I am opposed to a carbon tax but this does not mean that I am opposed to Joe Biden. The carbon tax would only contribute to the worsening of the serious gap between the incomes of the very rich and the middle income.
Another factor about a billion people on Earth do not have any access to electricity.
Joe Biden has a great deal of international policy experience and he probably has the best shot at developing an international solution. Plus, I think he knows the Federal resources to remission to researching a solution. He knows that we have exceptionally equipped laboratories.
1
Of course he could do more. Everybody can do more. That is always as it has been. No one can do everything in *any* endeavour, including the youth of today. They owe to themselves to look at what their elders have done, building an environmental movement where there was none before. They are building on that foundation. Saying someone could have done more is not a criticism, it's a truism.
2
To be honest, I feel that climate change is important and that our next President must put back into place what Trump has managed to dismantle in his three years in office. However, once that is completed, he or she must begin to work with all of Congress to get a progressive and doable climate change program in place. This reactionary back and forth policy between Democratic Presidents and Republican Presidents isn't helping !!! Frankly, Biden doesnt have the juice. We need to look at the younger, more enthusiastic and more forward looking candidates.
By the way, i'm 57 !!
2
Climate activists are more often than not ill informed and parroting talking points that are divorced from practical solutions. We need a leader who will take reasonable and realistic approach to climate, not reactionary personalities who will cave to into demands made by far left radicals.
9
@Tes I totally agree we must have a climate change program that both "liberals" and "conservatives" agree on. People tend to forget that a conservative may be more liberal on certain issues and vice-versa.
3
Climate change should be our #1 priority. The time for incrementalism has passed. Biden, to me, has failed to communicate the urgency and passion that I need to hear from my candidate.
I will vote for him if he is the candidate, because he would be 100x better than Trump. But we really need a candidate who is going to take drastic measures, starting yesterday.
9
@Zoe starting 20 years ago. Climate Change is here and there is little the US can do to stop it even if we turned off carbon emissions completely tomorrow. Adaption and practical solutions should be our way forward, not radical climate change policies that will do little or nothing to solve the issue that is already set in motion.
3
@Tes
Adaption and practical solutions means radical climate change policies. You are whistling past the grave yard if you have not yet realized that. Start reading about what is happening to the Greenland ice sheet, in Antarctica, in the northern regions, in the tropics RIGHT NOW. Wake up before it is too late.
@Zoe - We need a candidate who can get through the door... then the real work can begin...
1
One effective way to move towards better protection of the environment would be to reduce transportation fuel consumption by applying taxes as is done in many other countries.
When US fuel prices are compared to that in Europe, for example, one clearly sees that the cost of fuel in the US is dirt cheap.
The revenues gathered would go a long way to improving badly needed transportation infrastructure projects.
6
@Ron B
Europe was built for public transportation and walking from the beginning, long before cars were ever invented.
The same is not true of Canada or the US, which is why taxes have not actually reduced emission or even led to massive investments in public transport.
Taxes make the well off feel good about themselves, because paying money is the easiest thing to do rather than changing behavior.
This is all fine and dandy, unless you're poor and have to spend a disproportionate amount of your meager income on basic utilities while rich people lecture you about your "carbon intensive" lifestyle.
And no, tax credits to the poor do not make up for the actual costs they incur, just like the GST rebate in Canada does not compensate people for the actual GST taxes they pay on goods throughout the year.
6
@Ron B -- True, but equally or more important something that is given very little ink: stop buying stuff. Do without, buy used, wait to upgrade. Manufacturing is hugely energy and resource intensive. Do you really need another sweater? Does your phone work fine? Cars easily last 100,000 miles. (Rhetorical questions. You get the idea.) Wealth in western societies is measured by how much stuff is bought and owned. That has to change and it isn't all that hard. It's a just-say-no remedy.
4
@Stevenz
The "just say no" remedy works in theory only.
Human behavior isn't moved esoteric musings.
The single mention of Bernie Sanders, whose platform promises to appeal to Trumps' angry jobless - the late Joe Bageants' "rednecks" - while seriously proposing policies that would have the best chance of meeting that desperate deadline, was encouraging to see, hereabouts. Senator Sanders' has a long history of confrontation with Steve Fraser's subjects in The Age of Acquiescence: The life and death of American resistance to organized wealth and power.
James Lovelock's Ages of Gaia should be required reading for the electoral doubters. The deniers and their now-desperate president were never open to reason - let alone the lifeworks of the brilliant scientist who was asked to join NASA's early search for other life in our solar system, and who explains why only Earth developed and maintained the self-adjusting system of life forms that made us a "little blue dot" among the lifeless forms circling a star in this part of the Milky Way galaxy.
3
The single most important thing that can be done to protect the environment is to elect a new president who is popular enough with the swing voters in the swing states to also pull House and Senate seats. There is still time to get back into the Paris accords, quickly cancel Trump’s radical changes in environmental regulations, appoint excellent judges, and select cabinet members who do not represent industry. This is not the time for any subgroups to look for their perfect candidate on their favorite issues. It is not yet clear whether Biden or others are in the best position to achieve this goal, but the goal is clear. If we become divided or distracted, we can look forward to four more years of Trump being Trump in a bigger way because he will not face re-election.
10
If these climate absolutists are not careful, they might just re-elect Donald J. Trump. There are few examples of absolutist policies surviving the democratic process in such a large and diverse nation. This will not be one, either, as there are too many vested interests involved including people who want to heat their homes. We would do best with someone who makes progress rather than who tilts at windmills.
As it is, natural gas is far better than coal as far as a fossil fuel alternative as other sources of energy are developed. The absolutists further demonstrate that politics takes precedence over policy by their rejection of nuclear energy, which has a miniscule carbon footprint.
I don't think anyone will be voting for a President who promises to cut their jobs and engage in brownouts to reduce fossil energy in a draconian manner. Be careful of what you wish for.
6
@Khal Spencer
Nuclear energy has a YUGE radioactive waste footprint, which the nuclear energy fans always seem to forget. They also forget Chernobyl, Three Mile Island and Fukushima. Fusion, still just around the corner as it has been for the last 70 years. Nuclear plants are not yet sufficiently protected against either environmental or terrorist disasters. And are very expensive to build. We have good alternative green energy sources and the costs are plummeting.
4
No one is listening to any of Biden's plans.
His children have been using his political positions for years to make millions. While it may not be illegal, it is unethical and corrupt. Americans are tired of unethical behavior from their politicians.
By continuing to run, Biden is a distraction from the other candidates and real issues.
He needs to get out of the race. Help bring synergy to the Democratic Party and get behind another candidate.
7
@Hope no other candidate is capable of beating Trump, plain and simple. Unless, impeachment efforts are 100% successful and soon, the Democrats only chance is Biden.
1
The only candidate these young people would be able to count on for sure has dropped out and that was Jay Inslee. Biden is probably as good on climate as any of the other candidates and certainly better then some. Inslee pledged to make climate his top priority and no other candidate has done that. But even if Inslee had remained in the race and won and became president it is hard to see how he could have got his extensive policies through Congress. He would have needed a Democratic majority in both houses and the Senate to get rid of the filibuster, which is something he supported. That is the situation everyone fighting climate change is facing. Overcoming the fossil fuel industry-supported Republican Party in order to fight climate change with enough resources is almost an impossible challenge.
1
@Bob - are you aware that Warren adopted Inslee's plans IN TOTALITY and gave him full credit? Perhaps you should read up on the subject.
4
I rather he fully explained all his son's qualifications for his European connections. I'd like him to look someone in the eye and say his son got all his positions on his own merit and would certainly had them had dad not been politically important. then I'd like him to explain what his son's qualifications are.
2
yep, yep...that's why Warren is going to get the nomination.
3
@cbash Hold her feet to the fire, then, because she's hard to pin down a lot of the time.
Dramatic change with respect to climate change? What is that? To stop carbon gases concentrating in the atmosphere at this point means no more burning for energy or warmth or agriculture, without any effective alternatives to replace it. It means just stop and let the chips fall where they may. A transition to green alternatives which is not disruptive means incrementalism. The young people want decisive solutions but how many of them has any grasp of how their lives depend upon systems which cannot be changed in the magical fashion which they imagine?
5
@Casual Observer
" at this point means no more burning for energy or warmth or agriculture, without any effective alternatives to replace it."
--------------------------------------
..Got a specific alternatives ?
Generalities aren't helpful.
1
Biden is not a policy-driven candidate and it shows.
The most important issue in the coming election is about reducing the influence of money in politics - not getting rid of Trump. This means publicly funded elections.
If you get rid of the corrosive influence of lobbyists, it follows Congress will perform its functions in the national interest instead acting in the interests of wealthy donors and large corporations.
Biden and his family are steeped in the corrupt practices of Washington even if their behavior isn't illegal. The way his family has profited off his name is very unseemly.
Bottom line: If Biden is the nominee, turnout will be depressed especially among younger voters and Trump wins.
9
@D W
No, the most important objective is to get an incompetent man with no conscience out of office. Money is important because voters are ignorant of the issues and rely upon the mass media to decide how to vote. That will not be cured by laws against free wheeling campaign financing.
4
@Casual Observer
So you want people to replace one incompetent man with no conscience with another incompetent man with no conscience?
3
Voters insist on pretending that presidents can single-handedly enact sweeping programs when this has never been the case. The fate of grand ideas incubated in heated campaigns ultimately rests with Congress. We are seeing how catastrophic Trump's efforts to play emperor have been, yet voters cling to the fantasy that the various plans and schemes rolled out by presidential candidates are valid grounds for supporting or not supporting them, when what is really important is their leadership skills, intelligence, knowledge of our system of government, their ability to attract competent and dedicated administrators with expertise, and the willingness to listen to them.
17
Incrementalism hasn't cut it so far, and won't cut it if our goal is to preserve an environment conducive to a world population of > 7.5 billion souls.
Overall, I thought this article did a pretty decent job of explaining why Biden is having trouble "connecting" with young climate activists. What's most interesting is how it presents it as an essentially political/PR problem. As if the Biden campaign just needs to figure out how to better advertise to those of us for whom climate is the defining crisis (and failure) of our age.
The problem isn't just that we haven't done enough. It's that we've never even TRIED to do enough. Sure, Biden's been better than most, even better than most Dems. It's still not enough. This is an emergency, and retreating to the old standby of "look at how much better he is than the Republicans" isn't sufficient if we want the non-wealthy to have access to breathable air, edible food, or potable water in 50 years.
Backslapping and winking airpistols aren't going to get us there. Real commitment to system change is required, and there's exactly zero evidence Biden is the person for that particular job. If he's having trouble "connecting," it's not because he needs to tweak his messaging. It's because the content of the message needs to change.
30
@Shirley0401, I agree with your sentiments 100 percent.
3
Incrementalism hasn't cut it so far, and won't cut it if our goal is to preserve an environment conducive to a world population of > 7.5 billion souls.
Overall, I thought this article did a pretty decent job of explaining why Biden is having trouble "connecting" with young climate activists. What's most interesting is how it presents it as an essentially political/PR problem. As if the Biden campaign just needs to figure out how to better advertise to those of us for whom climate is the defining crisis (and failure) of our age.
The problem isn't just that we haven't done enough. It's that we've never even TRIED to do enough. Sure, Biden's been better than most, even better than most Dems. It's still not enough. This is an emergency, and retreating to the old standby of "look at how much better he is than the Republicans" isn't sufficient if we want the non-wealthy to have access to breathable air, edible food, or potable water in 50 years.
Backslapping and winking airpistols aren't going to get us there. Real commitment to system change is required, and there's exactly zero evidence Biden is the person for that particular job. If he's having trouble "connecting," it's not because he needs to tweak his messaging. It's because the content of the message needs to change.
8
It’s not that young people want more, it’s that the magnitude of the crisis *requires* more.
42
Climate change is a global issue, not just a US issue. Biden stands out because he is not only proposing aggressive domestic climate policy, but also prioritizing the rebuilding of our foreign relationships and building international consensus on issues like climate and democracy.
9
@Chris the US creates double the emissions that Europe does per capita, and four to ten times those of developing countries. We would do well to find solutions HERE and stop pointing fingers. Heck, we can then SELL those solutions.
3
@Multimodalmama
What’s wrong with doing both, US climate policies and working to build a global coalition? I don’t understand why it had to be one or the other.
2
Young activists eschew personal responsibility, and are relying primarily on government action to solve the climate problem. There will be little to zero government action for the next 16 or 64 mos. Personal action is our only relief in the interim. Instead of demanding that Biden solve our problem, install an on demand water heater, and do something about the climate today.
6
@John Patt Personal responsibility is necessary. However, even if every citizen took their responsibility seriously, the scope of the problem is not possible to solve without governmental intervention.
8
@JP But is the converse true? Can climate problems be solvedwithout individual participation and responsibility?
1
Forget the young, I am ready for the "old age home", and I feel Joe Biden failed us!
He was in office for 8 years. In a position of power, the policies that the Obama administration pushed put money in his son's pockets. It was a LNG policy, but the other green energy policies were never pushed or generated any passion from the administration.
Climate change is more than installing a natural gas generators on private property so that you have electricity when the power goes out. And, in California, they weren't cutting the power to prevent forest fires during the Obama administration.
Climate change is about keeping our feet dry in flood zones; climate change is about "green rooftops" in urban areas that reduce our carbon footprint; climate change is finding energy sources that are renewable such as wind and solar farms.
The infrastructure policies of the stimulus package that the Democrats pushed at the beginning of the administration didn't have any infrastructure in it. The infrastructure policies in place that Joe Biden oversaw as VP were pocket money for the select few. And, his son was a beneficiary.
21
@C.A. Scozzari How do you like the Trump/Republican infrastructure plan?
How is that working out for you?
2
“...Mr. Biden’s supporters seem incredulous that his record and proposals have not won young voters over...”
This is true for many issues, not just the environment.
Despite all evidence to the contrary, Biden thinks that he would be a good president for women. His appalling record on abortion and his crude interpersonal style with women and girls is too much for young people.
Biden thinks he’s Gods gift to Black people, but he has a clear history of undermining their needs when it is expedient. The crime bill, busing, conflating “poor” with “black”, etc. reveal his true feelings.
Biden doesn’t see how or why people would hold his relentless advocacy for banks and corporations against him. His work has been the foundation in the wall of inequality.
Incredulous indeed.
44
Climate change is a critical and should be a top commitment for the Democratic Party and thus all candidates. The Democratic Party should ensure this.
On the other hand, climate activists not withstanding, truly wonder if most young people really care?
Their actions suggest otherwise.
Starbucks, Sweetgreen etc are packed with young people discarding plastic and paper garbage; young people are the mainstay of cheap “throwaway” clothing at stores like H&M etc.
19
@SLM
This is true, but it's also asking a lot of young people to expect them to reject the comforts of the consumer culture their parents created while there is a multi-billion dollar industry devoted to convincing them it's their birthright, a social media ecosystem driven by advertising that weaponizes their insecurities, and an economic system that asks them to pay the price, every day, via precarious work and economic uncertainty, for the privilege.
The older generations created this mess, ignored all the scientists' recommendations, and statistically are more likely to vote for the party most opposed to even pretending to care about the climate crisis. In light of this, it's hardly fair to begrudge the average 20 year-old their latte or cheap jeans.
10
@SLM I agree. Much of the campaign so far has devolved to blaming Big Oil, Big Business, Big Politics, Big Fracking, etc. But who buys all these products, including the overpowered cars, throwaway clothing, and Starbucks coffee cups? Individuals that's who. But who among the frontrunners is asking people to take a long, hard look in the mirror at their own choices? Its easier to win primaries and curry favor with the base by pointing at someone else who is to blame.
5
@SLM Fallacy alert! People do these things because they have little choice in a society geared toward waste. You might want to use your high horse to get away from "individual moral purity" fake solutions and get a grander view of how our society works. Hint: it isn't straws, it is a small set of very well connected and protected industries that are causing this problem. Read up, and learn!
5
What is better: a deft talker who promises to do everything you want government to do, but has no personal record of accomplishing the things being desscribed; or a veteran speaker and lawmaker who is careful not to speak too far ahead of himself, but who has actually accomplished steps along the way towards those goals?
If I am being soothed to sleep, and wish to be validated, I'll pick the deft talker. If I am being roused to an existential problem, and holding myself accountable for right action, I'll pick the modest accomplisher, the persistent incrementalist who knows how to get things done.
8
@Allen
That's what the Dems have been promising for 40 years, and the results are an unqualified failure.
Have you read The Uninhabitable Earth or Losing Earth? Did you read Nathaniel Rich's NYT article? We've failed, we're failing, and Biden - barring a truly miraculous conversion experience - gives exactly no indication he thinks a course correction is necessary. He's part of the problem: a Democratic party that thinks it's sufficient to simply be less-awful than the Republicans. At least some of the other candidates are projecting an understanding of the scale of the crisis and the type of response that's being called for. Biden clearly wants a return to the 1980s Washington culture that was responsible for creating the blueprint of inadequacy both parties are following to this day.
A Biden presidency will just get us 4 more years deeper into the crisis, perhaps with some token initiatives designed to signal climate awareness. We need system change. We need to declare war on emissions. And we need to do it in such a way that the burdens don't fall most heavily on those least responsible for the problem, which I frankly don't trust Biden, the "Senator from MBNA," to do. We can do better, and we have to do better.
14
Young activists? I’m pushing 60 and Biden ain’t coming close to delivering. Out of touch, no cogent expressed path on most, if not all, major issues of the moment.
36