Vote for Sustainable Climate Policy

Unfortunately, our political and economic system encourages short-term thinking.

Climate change is not waiting as we seesaw back and forth. We can’t develop sound policy if every two years we reverse course. There is a clear and very important choice this election.

The Inflation Reduction Act, passed by Congress in August, is a robust 10-year plan to encourage private industry to develop and use clean energy. We need to stay the course long enough to see the benefits of economic and technologic innovation encouraged by good policy.

Related to climate there are two important races on your ballot. For Congress, Monica Tranel has clearly stated that she will work hard to support and accelerate Montana’s transition to clean energy.

Montana is fifth in the nation in wind potential, but only 24th in developed wind power. Among many other things, Monica would work to turn that statistic around.

Ryan Zinke, on the other hand, worked as a consultant for the fossil fuel industry, and supports developing more fossil fuel, not less. He talks about a slow transition to clean energy which would result in decades more warming and climate disasters.

Supreme Court Justice Ingrid Gustafson is being challenged by James Brown.

James Brown worked for American Tradition Partnership, a dark money group, which attempted to buy our state legislators.

American Tradition Partnership has denied climate science and fought against a renewable energy standard for utilities. With respect to climate, it is highly unlikely Brown would support our Constitutional right to “maintain and improve a clean and healthful environment in Montana for present and future generations”.

Vote for a sustainable climate – vote for Monica Tranel and Ingrid Gustafson.

Kris Newgard, Troy