Mychalejko: Combat the climate crisis before there’s nothing left to build back

Given the polarizing times we live in, it is comforting to see that Americans can still find common ground when it comes to protecting our nation — and planet.

A September 2021 poll by Yale and George Mason universities shows about two-thirds of Americans, across the political spectrum, recognize climate change as a national emergency, while overwhelming majorities support policies that incentivize and transition to a clean energy economy and reduce industrial pollution.

And we’ve actually got a plan for this, though it’s stalled in the Senate: The climate portion of Build Back Better.

“It’s not just environmental activists like me that want this,” said Helen Tai, a former Bucks County state representative and longtime local environmental advocate. “This is very popular and it’s a moral imperative.”

It’s true.

Poll after poll shows as much. In fact, as The Guardian reported in January, consensus that we are facing a climate crisis is actually growing, while the number of climate deniers in the U.S. is shrinking like the arctic glaciers.

The thing is, climate change affects everyone in their everyday lives, regardless of political affiliation.

Molly Parzen, interim executive director of Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania, said when you start asking questions about whether people want clean air for their kids to breathe, clean drinking water, lead-free pipes in their communities, etc., we find unity and the issue becomes less politicized.

But we don’t have these things.

According to The United Health Foundation, Pennsylvania ranks 47th in national air quality. Furthermore, the American Lung Association’s annual State of the Air report gave Berks, Bucks, Chester, Delaware, Montgomery, and Philadelphia counties an “F” in ozone pollution, while Bucks County was the worst in the Philadelphia metropolitan area.

Meanwhile, the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection published a report in January that reveals the state’s waterways are becoming more polluted and more unsafe for drinking, recreation, and wildlife. Making matters worse, as Lancaster’s Fox43 revealed in August, is that hundreds of Pennsylvania schools have lead-contaminated drinking water thanks to lead pipes.

Then there is also the matter of extreme weather.

“We have had major storm events just this past summer,” said Tai. “It’s real. It’s hurting people. It’s hurting businesses. And people need help. We just can’t afford to wait.”

There was the “100-year flood” that ravaged lower Bucks County this summer that damaged more than 1,100 homes and businesses, left apartment complexes “uninhabitable,” and displaced hundreds of local residents.

Extreme weather events which, in addition to floods, include tornadoes, wildfires, droughts and heatwaves, are the new normal nationally. Almost 700 people died in weather and climate disasters last year and the damage left behind cost the U.S. more than $145 billion.

“To be blunt, we’re running out of time,” said Conservation Voters of Pennsylvania's Parzen. “We’ve already waited too long to act on climate change.”

This is why passing a standalone Build Back Better climate bill is so imperative.

“The core climate components represent an absolutely transformational opportunity that will help reverse these trends,” added Parzen.

And there are secondary benefits as well, as state senators Amanda M. Cappelletti, Maria Collett, Steve Santarsiero and Judy Schwank pointed out in a letter Monday:

“The framework will create good-paying union jobs, grow domestic industries, and advance environmental justice for Black, brown, and low income Americans that have long been overlooked. It will provide billions of dollars to replace lead pipes which will provide kids with clean water and protect their health."

I believe this is something we can all agree to be bipartisan about.

Now it’s up to us to pressure our lawmakers to make sure a Build Back Better climate bill passes. Let’s fight together, not against each other, on this.

Cyril Mychalejko is a teacher and freelance writer from Bucks County. He can be reached at cmychalejko@gmail.com and at https://cyrilmychalejko.substack.com.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: Combat the climate crisis before there’s nothing left to build back