One of the most important issues to me that will be impacted by the upcoming congressional election are how environmental issues will be handled in the future. Being from Alaska, climate change and other issues regarding the ecosystem are very important to me and I think they should be held to the highest importance, not only for my state’s well being but for that of Earth’s as well. I hope that the upcoming election generates a congress that is eager to protect the safety of the Earth’s present and future, making a world that our children will be proud to inherit.
The Democratic party believes in climate change and seeks to prevent further damage it may cause to the environment. Looking to continue from Obama’s presidency, they hope to gain control of congress so that these ideals can be protected and added to. One example of previous work in this area done by President Obama and the Democratic party was the order to reduce carbon emissions from coal plants, who are responsible for the largest concentrations of emissions in the U.S. To replace that source of energy, Democrats hope to make clean energy the norm, an endeavor that would supposedly generate millions of jobs while also protecting the environment. Overall, Democrats hope to move away from what they believe to be unclean sources of energy to newer renewable sources that will save the environment while also generating jobs. Because of this, I side with Democrats on the matter.
In regards environmental protection, Republicans support continued usage of non-renewable resources. One of the party’s main arguments in keeping these resources in use is that coal is a clean and abundant source of energy, stating that without it lower income families would have to pay more for heating and AC. Following the upcoming election, Republicans hope to open public lands to harvest more sources of non-renewable energy as a way of helping the economy through the creation of new jobs and profit made off the energy in a free economy. Additionally, they claim that environmental crisis are hoaxes spread by “radical environmentalists” of the Democratic party based on “shoddy science.” To further this, President Donald Trump has called climate change “a hoax invented by the Chinese.” This reflects the Republicans’ stance on climate change clearly, as in they do not believe in it. Overall, they seek to maintain the environment while also using it to the benefit of the country and its inhabitants.
Alaska currently has one member in the House of Representatives–Republican Don Young, representing the at large congressional district. Opposing him in the upcoming election is Democrat Alyse Galvin. In regards to the aforementioned issue, incumbent Don Young believes that Alaska can lead the way in helping the U.S ween off its dependance for energy from other countries. Like his party, he supports the opening of public lands to find more sources of non-renewable energy, something that Alaska produces a lot of, especially in the oil industry in Prudhoe Bay. Alyse Galvin on the other hand believes that the state is at an incredibly high risk for the potential devastation that climate change can bring. She supports the funding of Alaska’s universities to aid in the creation of new energy productions that use renewable sources of energy. Because of these two stances on environmental issues, I hope that Alyse Galvin will win, but I predict Don Young will remain in power due to the state’s Republican nature and dependence on oil. Many people value their Permanent Fund Dividend, and they may see Alyse Galvin as a threat to that.
Lastly, I think that some “sleeping giants” may lead to a democratic congress after this election. Latino political organizations have been seeking to mobilize voters, and if they are successful then I believe they will help elect Democrats to congress due to Trump’s unpopularity amongst Latinos. Additionally, according to pollingreport.com, Democrats had more support from likely and registered voters by a margin of over 10%. I also think that other groups dissatisfied by President Trump will vote Democrat even if they normally don’t do so, and/or Democrats will be further mobilized to vote by his actions. Mobilization via online political participation will also speak to younger generations who tend to be more liberal, and despite the voting rate decline in age groups 18-24, I believe the 2018 congressional election will see a change in this due to the aforementioned dissatisfaction with Trump as well as Congress. This change in power in congress in regards to the environment will see increased support in renewable sources of energy and efforts to stop further climate change. It will also keep public lands closed to development, which I favor greatly because I believe in the preservation of Alaska’s beauty.
Resources
Election 2018, www.pollingreport.com/2018.htm.
“Don Young (Alaska).” Ballotpedia, ballotpedia.org/Don_Young_(Alaska).
“Don Young, Congressman for All Alaska.” Natural Resources – Congressman Don Young, Don Young, donyoung.house.gov/issues/issue/?IssueID=5005.
“Environment.” Democrats, Democrats, democrats.org/issues/environment/.
“Environment.” Alyse Galvin for Congress, Alyse Galvin, www.alyse4alaska.com/climatechange.
Ginsberg, Lowi, Weir, and Tolbert; Anagnoson, et al. We the People 11th Edition. W.W & Norton Company Inc.
“Republican National Committee.” GOP, GOP, gop.com/platform/americas-natural-resources/.