Rural America Should Bet On A Green Energy Future

We should ignore GOP fictions; rural Americans want the government to tackle climate change.

by Thomas Gahm, Barn Raiser

Recently, I sacrificed an hour of a beautiful spring evening to a teleconference by Rep. Tom Tiffany (R) who represents Wisconsin’s 7 District, which covers the northern part of the state, and Rep. Pete Stauber (R), who represents Minnesota’s 8th District, which covers the Iron Range in the north east quarter of the state. Their topic: “American energy independence,” featuring H.R.1, the newly passed Lower Energy Costs Act, which the environmentally conscious among us call the Polluters Over People Act. 

This recent House Republican legislation earns that label because, according to Tiffany, it would “speed up” oil and gas production and “slow down” incentives for electric vehicles and green energy production while repealing provisions of the Inflation Reduction Act that regulate carbon emissions. Reps. Tiffany and Stauber gassed on that easier and faster permitting of oil drilling and coal mining will guarantee our God-given right to a future of cheap, abundant, all-American energy.

While listening to their nonsense, my first thought was there will be no future for America or anyone else if we don’t get serious about curtailing this climate crisis. Don’t these “representatives” realize that 71% of Americans want Congress to fight climate change, with younger people (ages 18-29) most likely to say it should be a high priority? Even 61% percent of Republicans under age 50 want their representatives to support efforts to fight climate change. But then I remembered these guys are responding to the money Big Oil bought them with, not representing the people who elected them.