Polls underestimate the importance of climate change to the average American. Each election cycle, pollsters focus on the core issues that are at the forefront of the American public’s minds. These topics can make or break the American family, as parents prepare their children for school in the morning and try to figure out how to pay their bills at night.
Traditionally, we call these issues the “kitchen table,” and they encompass everything from the economy, to education, to housing, to health care. But in this election season, it is our climate that is driving decisions about where to live, how to consume, and whether to rebuild, or even evacuate, for voters right now. What the polls are missing in their ranking of key issues is the fact that if we don’t address climate change, every other major issue on the American mind will only get worse.
Economic and scientific models paint a challenging future. In an era of climate crisis, costs are skyrocketing as crops fail due to drought and extreme heat. Insurance premiums explode when flood and fire risks become guarantees. Real estate values plummet as beachfront properties are inundated by the very beaches they once adorned. As climate change worsens, we can expect human health to be negatively impacted by the increased prevalence of infectious diseases, deteriorating air quality, and deteriorating mental health due to climate anxiety. We see a particular environmental justice burden on women, youth, and people of color as well.
The reality is that climate change is no longer a distant issue. We’re living in an era of climate crisis right now, and we’re seeing alarming impacts across our country. Deadly disasters like Hurricanes Helene and Milton have devastated the Southeast, with warming oceans exacerbating the severity of storms. Fire season continues to spread across the West, displacing thousands of Americans from their homes. At this point, none of this is new, and Americans are continuously addressing these issues at home.
These intersecting crises have taken a toll on national morale. Young voters are especially disillusioned after a Harvard University poll in the spring showed that only 9% of young Americans feel that the nation is generally moving in the right direction. Meanwhile, a July survey by ClimatePower found that two-thirds of voters consider severe weather to be a kitchen table issue in their household.
As a leading progressive lawmaker and leader of the climate movement, we agree with that majority. Plan concepts are not enough when the American people are berated by one climate catastrophe after another. It’s time to treat the climate issue like a kitchen table issue, rather than relegating it to the sidelines.
In the pages of her latest policy plan, Vice President Kamala Harris does just that. As Evergreen Action recently synthesized, Harris is beginning to formalize the connections between housing, health care, the economy, and climate policy that the American public and the climate movement have been making for decades.
For example, her new economic plan calls for “America Forward” tax incentives that encourage the use of clean steel and cement, protect American union jobs, and at the same time reorient our industrial sector toward decarbonization. Her housing policy is to build 1.2 million units of affordable, energy-efficient homes, expanding access to American housing while reducing energy consumption. Finally, her plan links health care, child care, and education to our green future, emphasizing the fact that we can only raise safe, happy, and healthy children if we protect the planet that fosters these conditions.
In each of these policies, Harris is taking a bold step toward making climate a major issue in this election cycle, as fundamental to the American voter as the schools their children attend and their grocery prices.
It may seem strange to see a congressman and an activist collaborating on an article like this. In some ways, we are opposites. One of us is working on the ground mobilizing a grassroots movement of voters around a systemic climate agenda. The other is a member of Congress representing Silicon Valley, working within the system to influence national change and drive cleantech innovation.
But we are fighting for bold action on inequality and climate. For both of us, the climate crisis is personal. We, like Harris, are from South Asia, and our communities suffer disproportionate environmental justice burdens and disasters. We are united in recognizing that we can no longer dither on climate action. Together, we are pushing for systemic, top-down and bottom-up change.
It starts with changing our national discourse to reflect the reality of everyday life for Americans. Climate justice frames every other issue on the ballot this fall.
The difficult decisions that climate change is imposing on American families are not an inevitability or an abstraction. They are real, they are everywhere, and they are actively unfolding. We need to start legislating – and voting – accordingly.
In this election, one candidate has a history of fighting for climate justice. The other is in the pockets of the oil industry, selling out the American people for campaign contributions. Harris has made great strides on climate policy, and voters should keep the pressure on her to keep her front and center: Right on the kitchen table, where she’s already shown up.