The column below reflects the views of the author, and these opinions are neither endorsed nor supported by WisOpinion.com.
Recent historic flooding of Southeastern Wisconsin made no distinction between cities, rural areas and suburbs. Floods don’t care if you are a Democrat or Republican. The damage was mind-boggling: homes, personal property and infrastructure. The Wisconsin congressional delegation has now joined Wisconsin Democratic Governor Tony Evers in asking FEMA for help. GOP Representative Bryan Steil deserves credit for marshalling the entire delegation to speak with one voice, stepping up as Wisconsinites, not as partisans.
The next step must be to speak up, regardless of politics, about fossil fuels and mitigating climate change. Wisconsin will see more record rainfall, fueled by higher temperatures and heavy moisture in the air. Drought will help start massive fires in Canadian forests, sending smoke down to Wisconsin and many other states. Nationally hurricanes are becoming more frequent and stronger because of warming oceans. There’s no question that we must transition to cleaner renewable energy.
Some Wisconsin Republicans get this. The Wisconsin Conservative Energy Forum, led by former Governor Tommy Thompson, has made a strong case for “developing ‘Wisconsin-grown’ clean energy resources”: creating jobs, reducing pollution and improving public health. Although the group avoids talking about climate change, its advocacy is much better than conservative denial.
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Former Montana Democratic Senator (and farmer) Jon Tester said: “Climate change isn’t just inconvenient weather, or too little or too much water, or more bugs; it also affects the bottom line for those of us in agriculture. It creates unpredictability and wild swings in the market. It drives up the cost of crop insurance. It threatens our very food security.” What’s needed is preventive action.
Trump’s irrational staff cuts at FEMA, the National Weather Service and slashing clean energy investment must be reversed. GOP talk of eliminating FEMA as hurricane season begins is stunningly shortsighted. Firing scientists limits the ability to forecast weather such as extreme rainfall, hurricanes and tornadoes. Many will die or be injured needlessly. Trump will leave all states on their own.
Similarly, the Trump administration’s firing the entire Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program staff is nuts. Climate change is accelerating the need to help Wisconsinites (190,000 households – 2024) pay their heating and cooling bills. This will hit rural and urban areas hard. Why are Wisconsin GOP congressional members silent?
Then there are the 90,000 Wisconsinites losing their food assistance (SNAP) or seeing benefits reduced and the 276,175 Wisconsinites who will lose health care coverage. All because the GOP-led Congress, including all Wisconsin Republicans, passed the “Big Beautiful Act”, which made no distinction between rural and urban areas.
Finally, Trump’s trade wars will hurt all Wisconsinites with higher prices. However, farmers face a double-whammy—higher prices for farm equipment, fertilizer and lost markets. Is there another way?
The Wisconsin congressional delegation stood up as Wisconsinites asking FEMA for aid after terrible floods. Why not continue doing that? Stop listening to Trump. Do your jobs (Representatives Mark Pocan (D) and Derrick Van Orden (R) should stop tweeting animus against each other). Listen to rural, urban and suburban working people.
– Kaplan wrote a guest column from Washington, D.C., for the Wisconsin State Journal from 1995 – 2009.
