Two years ago, Asheville, North Carolina was considered a climate haven where people could move to escape the worst effects of climate change. Intuitively, this mountain town – far from the coast, blessed with a large water reservoir and high elevation that keeps temperatures moderate – seemed just the place to avoid hurricanes, droughts and floods.
Two weeks ago, the deadliest hurricane since Katrina in 2005 struck the US mainland. A category 4 storm, Helene hit Florida with winds of 140 mph and then weakened to a post-tropical cyclone as it swept through Tennessee, Georgia, Virginia and the Carolinas. It caused devastating rainfall and flooding across multiple states, dumping more than 32 inches of rain in places like Jeter Mountain, North Carolina. At least 215 people have died, with hundreds more missing. Total economic damages may reach up to $100 billion.
One of the worst hit areas? Buncombe county, the home to Asheville, North Carolina. More rain fell in three days that usually arrives in three months. Whole towns are in ruin, thousands have no power, running water or cell signal.
There is no place that is safe from the disastrous effects of climate change.
Each year, we are presented with more irrefutable evidence of climate change induced critical tipping points. Large-scale loss of life and extensive property damage from extreme weather events is becoming commonplace.
Yet, we are less than a month away from choosing the next US President and our candidates are largely MIA on the issue.
Former President Trump traveled to Georgia last week and spread lies about the Biden Administration’s response to the disaster, claiming that President Biden is ‘sleeping’ and not responding to calls for help from Georgia’s governor, though Governor Kemp and Biden had literally spoken the day before Trump’s comments. Vice-President Harris’s campaign, in turn, tweeted a snippet of Trump’s remarks to storm victims, deriding him for saying ‘you will be OK,’ though his full comments were certainly more empathetic then this extract would suggest.
More broadly, the climate emergency is hardly anywhere to be seen in either candidate’s priorities. In last month’s presidential debate, neither Harris nor Trump explained in any detail what they would do to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and expand the nation’s clean energy industry. Harris dodged the one question on climate change by speaking about homeowners and their challenges to secure insurance in areas hard-hit by flood and fire, while Trump talked about jobs he claimed are no longer around because of Chinese-owned car plants being built in Mexico.
On the one hand, it is unsurprising that both candidates are largely ducking the climate issue. After all, Harris likely needs to win Pennsylvania and her past opposition to fracking (an important industry in PA) is a vulnerability. And while it might be tempting to give the Biden-Harris Administration strong marks on climate issues given their passage of the Inflation Reduction Act and its support for clean-energy policies, oil usage actually rose during the Biden administration, with approximately 13 million barrels produced per day in 2023 compared to the record of 12.3 million barrels set in 2019. Indeed, according to the Energy Information Administration, today the US produces more crude oil than any other country, ever. And for Trump, the climate crisis fits neatly into his MAGA worldview as part of his imagined ‘woke’ liberal agenda that he consistently derides. He is an avowed energy extraction proponent who has promised to roll back Biden’s EV policies and subsidies, has called global warming a ‘hoax’ and apparently views sea-level rise as something to mock.
On the other hand, October is known as the month that brings a big surprise that shakes up a presidential race. Most pundits have identified the Middle East, and the unfolding hostilities between Israel and Iran, as the likely source of this election’s surprise. But what if it is a lot closer to home?
Even before places like Asheville have identified their missing and buried their dead, Tropical Storm Milton is now bearing down on the west coast of Florida, expected to reach land as Category 2 or 3 hurricane this Wednesday. Tampa, the third most populous city in Florida, now faces storm surges of potentially up to 10 feet, threatening to make entire parts of the town uninhabitable.
Twenty years ago, President George W. Bush watched much of his second term agenda washed away in the aftermath of his disastrous response to Hurricane Katrina. The indelible image of a distant Bush, flying over the submerged Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans and looking out the window of Air Force One, instead of effectively managing the crisis closer to the ground, sunk his approval rating to the lowest since he had taken office.
Tip O’Neill, the legendary former Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives is well known for remarking that all politics is local. This famous saying comes painfully to life when the power goes out, the taps don’t run, cell signals disappear, and your neighbors are literally washed away from the effects of climate change. Vice-President Harris and former President Trump would be wise to take this lesson to heart.
It is time for our candidates to lead on the most pressing issue of our time.
