Donald Trump and Joe Biden have outlined their approaches to environment, infrastructure and jobs.

Trump, ignoring our need for clean air and water, says he will eliminate environmental reviews of highways, pipelines and power plants under the 1969 National Environmental Policy Act. In doing this, he seeks to distract from his failure to deliver an infrastructure plan.

Biden sees addressing climate change as an opportunity “to put Americans to work in good-paying jobs, making the air cleaner for our kids to breathe, restoring our crumbling roads, bridges, and ports.”

Trump has called global warming a hoax (like the coronavirus). He says windmills cause cancer, energy efficient appliances are “worthless,” and zero-emissions buildings lack windows. He says rejoining the Paris accord would destroy our industry. He offers no evidence to support these claims.

Republicans insist that scientists who say burning fossil fuel contributes to global warming are either misguided or corrupt (i.e., Trump knows better).

For Trump, addressing climate change poses a threat; for Biden, it presents an opportunity. Trump stokes voters’ fears, looking to the past; Biden asserts the audacity of hope, looking to the future. A former Republican congressman in Florida has said that Trump’s disregard for science points to a “broader character question.”

Climate scientists say the next few years may be critical. The stakes on Nov 3 couldn’t be higher – in addition to deciding the fate of our democracy, this election may determine the fate of the planet.

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