Concentration of CO2 in the Atmosphere

Do Environmentalists Really Care About the Environment?

Created by CCL Chapter member Jennifer Durgin.

Bob and Suzannah Ciernia

Readers of the Green Energy Times (G.E.T.) are among the nation’s most knowledgeable supporters of renewable energy. If you want to know about solar, wind, electric vehicles, batteries, and a host of cutting-edge developments, the companies and columnists who appear in G.E.T. inform, instruct, and promote alternatives that will fuel the transition from carbon-based energy to a greener, healthier society.

So, you probably think that your fellow G.E.T. readers and other environmentalists are among the most likely to do the one thing that can have a nation-wide impact on climate change: vote. Unfortunately, that’s wrong.

It seems counterintuitive, but research by the Environmental Voter Project (EVP) shows that large numbers of people who list climate change or other environmental issues as their top one or two priorities do not put that conviction into action by voting. How many people are we talking about?

EVP estimates that over 8 million environmentalists did not vote in the 2020 presidential election and over 13 million skipped the 2022 midterms.

Many Federal elections are determined by a few thousand votes – out of a million or more cast! If a fraction of those 13 million non-voting environmentalists had voted, several swing states would have had different outcomes. If a good percentage of those non-voting environmentalists weighed in at election time, we would be talking about a changed legislative landscape.

So, what can you do to make sure that environmentalists vote? Talking to like-minded family and friends is a start, but here is another idea: work with an organization whose sole purpose is to turn out environmentalists for local, state, and federal elections. That is how we in the Northeast can have a bigger impact nationally.

That is what Citizens’ Climate Lobby, a nonpartisan organization, is doing—encouraging its members to volunteer with EVP.

Environmentalists, the people most concerned about climate change, are often no-shows at the polls, according to Nathaniel Stinnett, Executive Director of EVP. “In a nutshell, the Environmental Voter Project is a nonpartisan nonprofit that identifies environmentalists who don’t vote, and then we turn them into consistent voters,” says Stinnett. EVP research shows that, in many states, unlikely voters are twice as likely to list climate change as a top priority as compared to likely voters. Think about that.

When environmentalists show up at the voting booth, climate change moves higher on the agenda of all the members of Congress, regardless of party. Writing and calling senators and representatives is important, but, ultimately, votes are more important. Unless environmentally-minded constituents consistently vote — and that information becomes public record — their opinions are not taken seriously. It is only when lawmakers see that climate advocates are also voters that the issue becomes important to them, too. It does not matter which party we are talking about, this cannot be said too often: our elected officials are moved by voters, not by the volume or frequency of a small number of callers.

Nothing motivates a politician more than the prospect of winning or losing an election,” says Stinnett. “It’s crucially important for climate voters to continue building our political power and flood the polls in local and state elections.”

EVP has a track record of converting infrequent voters to becoming consistent voters – and that is what it is going to take to get legislators’ attention.

To volunteer with EVP, visit https://www.environmentalvoter.org/get-involved. You will find opportunities to phone-bank, canvass, and send postcards. Training is provided, and you will be participating in actions that have proven to be impactful.

Will it be worth your time? EVP tracks its impact over time – using the aforementioned public voting records – and reports that of the 9,542,183 low propensity voters they have mobilized since 2015, 1,487,733 are now consistent voters.

For more information about EVP, the studies they have conducted, and the results they have achieved, visit https://www.environmentalvoter.org.

It is time environmentalists do more than buy electric vehicles and put solar panels on their roofs; we need to vote.

Bob and Suzannah Ciernia are co-leaders of the Vermont Citizens’ Climate Lobby Chapter.

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