Climate Vote: 2022 Election

Barry A. Klinger, October 2022

The gray line shows observed global mean surface temperature for each decade since the 1960s. Colored lines show possible climate futures depending on whether emissions continue to accelerate, grow at a more moderate rate, or start to decline. Observations are from NOAA database.

Information on Voting in Virginia
Climate Positions of Congressional Candidates
A Skeptic's Guide to Global Warming

Humans are raising the temperature of the Earth by adding heat-trapping gases to the atmosphere. If we continue on this path, we will increasingly face dangerous heat waves, stronger storms, loss of coastal land, disruptions to the water supply, worsening forest fires, and ecosystem dislocation. While climate is always changing, global heating is a human-caused problem which humans can solve.

The good news is that low-emission technology, such as solar and wind energy generation and high-efficiency machines, is now affordable. Private and public initiatives, including the federal Infrastructure Bill and Inflation Reduction Act, are accelerating adoption of the new tech. Low emissions technology has been undergoing explosive growth, with solar and wind going from virtually zero to a few percent of electricity generation.

Continued growth has the potential to curb global heating, but are we moving fast enough to stabilize the climate? To a large extent, this is a political question. Governments can enact policies to accelerate the transition to a cleaner economy, or they can try to block the transition. Your vote will help determine which path the United States choses.