"Kamala Harris made history on Tuesday, becoming the first Black woman to be the vice presidential pick on a major party ticket. But she makes history in other ways, too. Her addition to Team Biden will focus a new spotlight on an issue Harris has championed in the Senate: addressing the racism of environmental pollution.
While climate change has grown in importance to Democratic voters in recent years, so has drawing the connection to racial injustices. We’re only now starting to reckon with a long history of white environmentalists and leaders chronically overlooking this crisis. And the coronavirus pandemic, which has disproportionately impacted Black and Brown Americans, is making the stakes clearer than ever—and makes addressing the pollution in these communities all the more urgent.
The past few years have been something of an evolution for the junior senator from California; when Harris entered the presidential race last year, she didn’t have as robust an environmental record as many of her opponents. Still, she campaigned to the left of Biden on climate change, calling for a nationwide ban on fracking when Biden has not gone so far, and firmly embracing the Green New Deal, a moonshot left plank of investment to bring down climate pollution (even calling for eliminating the filibuster to do so)."
Rebecca Leber reports for Mother Jones August 11, 2020.
SEE ALSO:
"On Climate, Kamala Harris Has a Record and Profile for Action" (InsideClimate News)
"What Choosing Harris Says About Biden And Climate" (E&E News)
"Where Biden and Harris Differ On The Environment, Climate" (E&E News)
"With the Biden-Harris Ticket, Environmental Justice Is a Focus" (New York Times)
"Kamala Harris Says She Would Eliminate The Filibuster To Pass Green New Deal" (CNN: 9/4/2019)
"How Kamala Harris Would Address Climate Change" (Politico: 9/4/2019)
"Kamala Harris Is Biden’s VP Pick. What Does That Mean For The Climate?" (Grist)
"What Kamala Harris Means for Biden's Climate Change Plans" (Axios)
"What the Kamala Harris VP Pick Means for Biden’s Energy and Climate Platform" (Greentech Media)
"Kamala Harris’s Climate Plan Would Take Polluters To Court" (Vox: 9/4/2019)
"Kamala Harris Releases $10-Trillion Plan To Fight Climate Change" (Los Angeles Times: 9/4/2019)
"Kamala Harris’s Fracking Record Scares Big Oil But Attracts the Left" (Bloomberg)
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