Climate change is important for GA’s young voters in choice between Trump, Biden | Opinion

Last weekend, former President Donald Trump and President Joe Biden both visited Georgia ahead of this week’s primary. The rallies felt like more of a preview for the general election and the choice that young people like me will have this November—which isn’t much of a choice at all.

Trump’s speech included him saying “drill, baby, drill,” repeating his claims that the 2020 election was rigged, and talking about wanting to ban “critical race theory” in schools.

His vision of the future couldn’t be further from the one I want. As a student organizer with the Georgia Youth Justice Coalition, I’m pushing for a future where students have the freedom to develop the skills we need to reckon with our past, shape a better future, and pursue our dreams.

Climate change is a top issue for me, and for most young people I know. We understand what’s at stake if we re-elect Donald Trump—the president who pulled us out of the Paris climate accords and speculated whether climate change was a hoax.

President Biden, on the other hand, used his platform at last week’s State of the Union to talk about how his administration is working to end tax breaks for Big Oil and remove poisonous lead pipes so that every child can drink clean water.

Pollution is especially important to me and other Georgians living in Macon where I live. Georgia generates more coal ash than most other states in the country, more than 6 million tons a year. Coal ash contains chemicals known to cause cancer and disproportionately affects low-income communities and communities of color, where industrial plants are often located.

Georgia Power’s Scherer coal power plant is based in Juliette, just north of Macon, which is nearly 60% Black. The plant has dumped nearly 16 million tons of coal ash at a disposal site in the Macon area. In 2020, water samples collected from 29 nearby wells found “potentially unsafe levels of hexavalent chromium, which is linked to ulcers, liver and kidney failure, and cancer” in almost every sample.

Unfortunately, this isn’t the first time Georgia’s water has been found unsafe to drink. In 2019, our state got an F for failing to keep dangerous levels of lead out of drinking water in schools. Other reports have rated our drinking water among the least safe in the country.

Under another Trump term, none of this is likely to change. President Biden, on the other hand, is standing up to Big Oil, fighting for clean air and water, and putting in the work to address the climate crisis.

His administration’s Justice40 initiative is investing 40% of the benefits of certain climate, clean energy, and affordable and sustainable housing investments in under-resourced communities that have suffered the impacts of industrial pollution.

President Biden’s clean energy plan is creating jobs, reducing emissions, and protecting our environment for future generations. His administration created the American Climate Corps, which is engaging 20,000 young people to build careers in fields like sustainability and clean energy.

Locally, President Biden is investing in Georgia’s young people and our clean energy future. For example, the Chattahoochee River National Recreation Area and other national parks are getting $300,000 as part of the YMCA Partnership Program to engage young people in climate change education and outdoor recreation. The Environmental Justice Government-to-Government program, which received $84 million through the president’s clean energy plan, is investing in Savannah’s Energy Efficiency and Workforce Training Program project.

I want to be a part of building a clean energy future for Georgia and our country as a whole. Through words and actions, Biden has demonstrated his commitment to building a brighter, safer future for America’s young people.

Trump, on the other hand, has made it clear that he wants to drag us back to our fossil fuel past. Re-electing Trump means a much darker future for my generation and those that come after us.

Marrow Woods is a student organizer with Georgia Youth Justice Coalition. They are based in Macon, GA.