Opinion |

New approaches needed to resolve climate change debate

When it comes to contentious issues in America, our cup runneth over. You know the list: guns, immigration and border security, reproductive freedom, LGBTQ rights — and the one that looms large this sizzling summer, climate change.

Once we casually inquired, “So, how’s the weather?” It was a way to make small talk (and a question I never asked when calling relatives in Wisconsin during the winter months). Now, it’s a query with real and sometimes devastating consequences on human lives, in communities across the country.

Nearly two weeks after the Maui firestorm, I can’t get the images out of my mind. With more than 100 casualties and search efforts continuing, the fire is the deadliest in the U.S. in more than a century. Hawaii Gov. Josh Green has estimated that rebuilding will cost $6 billion.

Californians have a strong affinity for our neighbors across the Pacific. Hawaii is a favorite vacation destination; according to hawaii.gov, 41 percent of the state’s 9.2 million annual visitors come from our region. And because we well know the destruction that fires cause, what happened in Maui seems that much more personal.

During the pandemic, my daughter spent a month in Maui. While the house where she stayed is still standing, the property was damaged. A friend who visited Lahaina with his family last year just learned their vacation home was destroyed.

While officials have not determined a cause for the blaze, power lines — downed by strong gusts of wind — are suspected. Maui is experiencing drought conditions this year, deemed “severe” in the southern and western coastal areas. According to the Hawaii Wildfire Management Organization, the introduction of non-native, fire-prone grasses and shrubs to the island has “exponentially increased” wildfire threats.

And after an unusually wet and chilly winter, drought reappeared across the west — and along with it, record heat. In Phoenix, temperatures exceeded 110 degrees for 19 days, beginning in July. Just last week, parts of the Pacific Northwest rejoined the triple-digit club, after experiencing unseasonable warmth in spring.

As columnist Amanda Taub recently observed in The New York Times, climate change will require new political strategies and agreements at the very time the U.S. is facing heightened polarization.

Optics are a complicating factor here, as voters reward politicians for delivering emergency relief — but not for investing in natural-disaster preparedness. It creates “misaligned incentives,” Taub said, noting that $1 spent on preparedness is worth approximately $15 in emergency response.

And the partisan split is wide. The latest FiveThirtyEight/Ipsos poll found that 36 percent of Democrats and just 5 percent of Republicans ranked climate change as a top issue facing the country.

We disagree on its cause: 88 percent of Democrats and 35 percent of Republicans said that climate change was “entirely” or “mostly” caused by humans. Similarly, we disagree on solutions, with 76 percent of Democrats and only 17 percent of Republicans wanting stricter regulations.

Regardless of party, the poll revealed a direct linkage between concern about climate change and personal experience. Forty-six percent of Republicans who had encountered extreme weather conditions in the past five years expressed worry, compared with just 17 percent of those not affected.

With a growing number of climate disasters in our country — and their widespread consequences — we could have consensus before long.

Ian Harrison, president and CEO of Washington, D.C.-based Bipartisan Climate Action, has a different approach in mind. BCA talks to and raises funds for members of Congress who are (or have potential to become) climate champions. Founded during the 2022 electoral cycle, the organization is focused on advancing “significant and enduring legislation to reduce carbon emissions while growing the American economy, creating American jobs, and advancing America’s energy independence.”

Harrison is optimistic that BCA can find 30 to 40 members in both chambers who fit the bill. He is encouraged that the bipartisan House Climate Solutions Caucus has been relaunched under new leadership. There is also a Conservative Climate Caucus, led by John Curtis, R-Utah, who is supported by BCA. While membership is limited to Republicans, Harrison believes its existence proves a broader appetite for climate solutions than many of us imagine.

Solving the climate crisis will take a sustained effort. Passage of landmark legislation like last year’s Inflation Reduction Act (which contained three major climate-related provisions) is certainly important, but Harrison says we need to pay attention to the “tiny” bills — on matters like grid management and recycling — passing a few every year for the next 20.

It’s just like baseball, where base hits (and not home runs) win games. But as people in Maui and across the country are coming to know — when it comes to our climate, the stakes are much higher. Bipartisanship could turn out to be the real game changer.

Dinkin is president of the National Conflict Resolution Center, a San Diego-based group working to create solutions to challenging issues, including intolerance and incivility. To learn about NCRC’s programming, visit ncrconline.com