I brought a coat for the trip through Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Oklahoma, and Texas, but never wore it once. The drought in Ohio was painfully visible in the cornfields. A relative was able to come a talk in Ohio because she had fled a hurricane in North Carolina. In Ohio the days started out in the high 30s but then cleared 70. I ran a 5k in Ohio with people who were struggling in the sun and heat — in late October. In Ohio and Michigan the trees were a couple weeks late in turning, at least compared to what I remember. In Oklahoma and Texas it was balmy deep into the night. The drive from OKC to Dallas was scorching.
There is so much to remember about the trip, most of it encouraging and happy. But the changes in the weather were all around, affecting everything.
In a short presidential campaign like this, climate has not been a major topic. In this video, I try to explain how important it should be. We have the knowledge and the tools and to deal with climate change. But we have to do it now. Four years of encouraging carbon emissions and spreading misinformation, which is what Trump and Vance promise, could very well make the problem insoluble and the crisis irreversible. And this is a problem that will make all the other problems worse. It really is a matter of survival.
So this is one more way that we have power — a lot of power. Voting on this issue will make a dramatic difference, in the US and everywhere else. Let’s change the climate for the better. Vote.
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