when it comes to concessions at professional sporting events, a rising concern has been trash and uneaten food. however, there are some franchises working to make their events not as wasteful and move past the days of paper trays and plastic cups. one such venue is denver’s pepsi center. 

this fall, the pepsi center — home to almost all of denver’s professional sports teams and frequent concert venue — along with the ball corporation and kroenke sports & entertainment, launched a reusable and recyclable aluminum cup at their concession stands to replace plastic cups at the pepsi center. the change was part of a pilot program created by ball in response to consumer preference for more sustainable products.

the 20 oz. cup — the first of its kind to be used at a professional sporting venue in the united states — debuted at the denver nuggets’ first home game of this season, against the phoenix suns, on oct. 25, 2019. the pepsi center is also the first professional sporting venue to distribute such a cup, according to renee robinson, director of corporate communications at ball. 

in a joint press statement from ball and kroenke sports & entertainment, ball’s chairman, president, and ceo john a. hayes said a goal of the new cup was to make a “meaningful difference on promoting sustainability in its industry.” 

also, according to robinson, the aluminum cup comes with many positives.

“ball’s new aluminum cup is infinitely recyclable, meaning that it can be used, recycled and be back in use as a new cup or can in as little as 60 days,” robinson said. 

“aluminum beverage containers have a global recycling rate of 69% and recycling yields of more than 98%, making them the world’s most recycled beverage container.” 

plastic has a much smaller recycling rate — 8.4% according to a 2017 report from the environmental protection agency. 

robinson said the ball corporation is a company that prides itself on making our planet a greener one, and it is doing so in multiple areas, from packaging to aerospace. that overarching goal is what inspired ball to get this new cup made and distributed, according to robinson. beyond the new cup, ball has helped lead recycling education programs and also has joined the world wildlife fund through their cascading materials vision. 

the cost of the new cups has not yet been determined, but as reported in packaging digest, ball anticipates pricing to be “competitive with other sustainable cup options.” ball general manager sebastian siethoff said in the article that venues are making a “conscious decision to adopt a more sustainable beverage container for their consumers.”

currently, the aluminum cup can be found only in colorado — at both the pepsi center and via the university of colorado athletic department at folsom field. cu’s cup swap is a step toward the university’s goal of becoming plastic-free in its sports venues by 2020.

according to robinson, ball plans to expand the production of their cups to the other side of the united states, with a goal of launching next at atlanta’s mercedes-benz stadium. the company hopes to be in other venues and facilities by the end of 2020, as well as expand their cup options. 

“we are building a dedicated cups manufacturing facility in georgia and, when that plant is fully operational, we plan to introduce additional sizes to round out our cups portfolio and intend to expand adoption of the cups to drinking establishments, parks and recreation, colleges and universities, hospitality, restaurants, retail, business and industry,” robinson said.

on march 21, 2011, the green sports alliance was launched by most of the professional sports franchises in the pacific northwest area as well as the vancouver canucks along with the bonneville environmental foundation, green building services, and milepost consulting. since then, the organization has gone on to include major franchises from all four of the biggest professional sports leagues in north america, as well as some major collegiate programs and climate organizations. today, the board is composed of climate change activists and owners of teams like the pittsburgh pirates and the tampa bay lightning. 

since the founding of the green sports alliance, the group has garnered support from former president barack obama, as well as gained a foreign ally in 2018 with the start of a new independent group called green sports alliance japan.

in 2016, the green sports alliance was recognized by president obama and the white house to honor oct. 6 as green sports day, said garret wong, member services manager for the green sports alliance. according to wong, being recognized by the obama administration is one of the alliance’s biggest accomplishments.

“to date, our organization, alongside our members & partners, have honored the occasion via a weekend-long social media campaign to raise awareness for the work taking place across the industry,” wong said. “our team is excited to continue sharing the incredible leadership within our network and the sports greening movement.”

the main purpose of the alliance is to “promote healthy, sustainable communities where we live and play.” they are accomplishing this by reaching out to communities in events that are meant to educate and spread the word on sustainability. the green sports alliance is also able to get some celebrity endorsement by getting professional athletes both young and old to participate. 

this organization is also growing day by day according to its members.

“the green sports alliance is always looking to explore new opportunities and partnerships with teams, universities, corporations, and leagues on a global level,” wong said. “with over 400 members working with more than 15 leagues globally, we are excited to continue to leverage the cultural and market influence of sports to promote healthy, sustainable communities where we live and play.”

the purpose of this initiative is to create a more eco-friendly hockey world. according to the official nhl green website, the league plans to inspire change in a multitude of ways. some of the biggest goals of the initiative is construct greener rinks, and make both the franchises of the nhl reach lower emissions and limit waste, as well as reaching out to communities to educate and inspire change.

since the introduction of nhl green, all 31 nhl franchises have done their part to help combat the climate crisis, including 2018 stanley cup champions the washington capitals. 

like all other professional sports teams, the capitals — and hockey in general — face the same questions when it comes to resources and how their events affect the climate.

when it comes to professional sporting events, food concessions have become a major source of revenue for a franchise’s home stadium. with so much food being prepared for fans hungry for more than just a win, the capitals plan with their food distributors to make sure there is limited waste as well as any unused food is put to good use according to megan eichenberg, senior manager of communications and publicity for the capitals.

“aramark food and beverage (our in house concessionaire) actively manages all of their warehouse cooking stock, with perishables being delivered daily, to limit as much waste as possible. from time to time, donations will be made to the capital area food bank with any excess product,” eichenberg said.

even though projects like that are helpful to the cause of preserving the planet, larger updates to the capitals’ home rink at capital one arena can be a challenge. but there are still options.

“we have recently replaced our membrane roof which allows us to be more energy efficient,” eichenberg said. “… we are limited in what weight can be added to the roof while still supporting the concert loads.”

capital one arena holds more than just hockey games for the capitals. the professional basketball franchise in d.c., the washington wizards, also have their home games in capital one arena, but the venue also holds concerts as well as other types of events.

but the arena continues to go through other positive changes to combat the climate crisis, according to eichenberg.

“we have replaced all of our metal halide sport lights in the bowl to energy-efficient leds and are transitioning all of our other arena lights to leds,” eichenberg said. “we partner with dcseu (dc sustainable energy utility) to identify potential greening opportunities to offset our energy consumption.

“we partner with wgl to provide energy to capital one arena through a 0.8-megawatt ground-mounted offsite solar supply solution in frederick county, maryland,” she said. “the solar energy farm accounts for roughly a quarter of our power annually.”

eichenberg also went on to explain how wgl — a family of energy utilities based in washington, d.c. — contributes to reducing emissions from the arena.

“wgl also donates carbon offsets to counterbalance emissions from washington wizards, washington capitals, concerts, and other events,” eichenberg said.

since the start of nhl green, the league has made some important strides and that has made companies want to work with them to make their sport more energy efficient. one of those companies is chemours, a spinoff of dupont, which focuses on finding climate solutions through chemistry. 

cynthia salitsky, the global communications leader at chemours, shared how nhl green made chemours want to partner with the league.

“the nhl promotes best practices and innovations that ultimately help to lower the ecological impact of the sport,” salitsky said. “the nhl aspires to ensure that hockey thrives by addressing the places and spaces where hockey is played – especially indoor ice arena infrastructure.” 

salitsky also shared how both the nhl and chemours hope these changes will have a positive impact for future generations.

“chemours has been a leader in refrigerant innovation to tackle upcoming regulatory and environmental challenges within this infrastructure, and the partnership with the nhl to provide refrigerant options for community rinks across north america will hopefully ensure that community rinks – which function as community hubs and sports venues – thrive for future generations,” salitsky said. 

“the opportunity to educate even more rink operators on our value proposition continues to be our focus, so that everyone in the industry has the knowledge to make informed decisions on what solution is right for them.”

like the 30 other nhl franchises, the washington capitals are partnered with the green sports alliance. according to garret wong, member services manager at the alliance, the nhl’s ability to reach out to its fanbase has been key.

“one component that the nhl green has done an exceptionally tremendous job at is its focus towards fan engagement and how the nhl teams across the league are communicating and reaching their fans,” wong said. “providing that message of community stewardship and individual leadership to their respective fans and patrons has elevated the platform for the organizations to impact the community outside of the walls of their facilities.”

sports has always been a social construct that brings people together, no matter their background. from highlighting issues that deal with civil rights to fair pay. with that in mind, perhaps it is time for sports to highlight the necessity of preserving the earth.

—

read more about the green sports alliance.

the report brings an honest interpretation of the current state of the recycling industry and just how many levels in which it is faltering. especially since countries in eastern asia have started to refuse accepting recyclables from the united states, according to media reports. in a press release from the public interest network, which operates more than 15 organizations including the u.s. pirg, several states have been “failing to both reduce unnecessary waste and to adjust to a changing recycling landscape.”

according to alex truelove, u.s. pirg education fund zero waste program director and report co-author, the main thing he wants people to take away from this report is that it is going to take multiple facets to fix the waste problem.

“we can’t rely on recycling alone to fix our waste problems. our systems were not designed to process many of the items we dispose of — single-use plastics in particular,” truelove said. “to truly achieve a zero waste society, or anything close to it, reducing our waste and transitioning toward more reusable materials have to be the priorities moving forward. recycling plays a role, but it should be a last resort, after reduction and reuse.”

at the 2019 planet forward summit, tom szaky, the founder and ceo of terracycle, addressed how recycling is not enough in solving the waste problem. it is also going to take clean-up efforts and rethinking single-use items in its entirety. 

“recycling is the solution to the symptom of waste but not the cause of it,” szaky said at the summit. “it’s not plastic that’s the problem it is using all this stuff once.”

truelove offers what he thinks needs to be done in order to solve the waste problem.

“a mix of good public policy and corporate action. from bottle bills to single-use plastic foam bans, we know better policies can reduce waste and drive corporations toward better practices,” truelove said.

“we also know that meaningful corporate actions can influence the market and lay the groundwork for better policy. we need more of both,” he said. “consumers cannot be expected to move the market alone, we need to enable them to make better choices.”

policy change is another area that needs work to help correct the problem, according to truelove.

“there are also opportunities to work with other countries to establish international laws and better practices, like ‘prior informed consent.’ in other words, agreeing to divulge what materials we’re sending to other countries,” truelove said.

even though there are still plenty of materials that are being exchanged on the global market, truelove said, plastic continues to be an issue.

“plastic is the outlier, and i don’t envision that market recovering because plastic — especially disposable plastic — remains low-value and hard-to-recycle. that’s why we need to reduce our use of single-use plastic, first and foremost,” truelove said.

—

see the full state of recycling national survey (pdf).

it may sound a little wild, but author and professor robert stayton lays out all the details in his new book, “solar dividends: how solar energy can generate a basic income for everyone on earth.”

stayton, who teaches courses at the university of california, santa cruz and cabrillo college ranging from physics to solar energy, has made solar his life’s work.

and it actually was work on stayton’s last book that inspired his newest release.

“while writing my previous book ‘power shift,’ which is about how we can transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy, i was trying to figure out how much renewable energy we would need,” stayton said. “that is, if we managed to transition 100% to solar and wind, how much would we need to install to run a modern civilization? 

“i wanted to show that it was not such a ridiculous number that it would be impossible to accomplish,” he said.

finding a solution like the one stayton discusses in “solar dividends” takes a lot of hours calculating and planning, and stayton also shared just how long he spent with his calculations on coming up with a possible solution to clean energy.

“i had to take into account population growth, improvements in energy efficiency, delivering energy services to all people, and the intermittent nature of solar and wind,” he said. “i calculated that for the solar pv (photovoltaic) component of such a future energy system, we would need to install 100 terawatts of panels, that is, 100 trillion watts. such a huge number is hard to relate to, so i looked at how much that would be per person, to put it on a human scale.

“by 2070 our population is expected to be 10 billion, so dividing 100 trillion by 10 billion, i got 10,000 watts per person. so i concluded that if we installed 10 kilowatts of pv for each person on the planet, we would have enough energy to run a modern world economy, including all industry, commerce, and transportation.

“that’s when the lightbulb over my head lit up: why not just give everyone a 10 kilowatt pv system? ‘nah, that’s crazy,’ i thought,” stayton said. “but the idea stuck in my head, and i spent the next four years working out exactly how we could do that, connecting it to universal basic incomes, and the result is my new book ‘solar dividends,’” stayton added.

making a transition to a cleaner form of energy will take time no matter the type of energy that is being discussed. for example, even though every democratic presidential candidate thinks climate change is a real issue that has to be addressed they all have different ways to combat it with either what type of energy should be used or what legislation should be passed. 

“i’m the first to describe using the income from solar energy instead of taxes to pay for basic incomes,” stayton said.

however, “solar dividends” is not just about how solar will benefit people from a clean energy standpoint but an economic one as well. throughout the book, stayton describes how switching to solar energy will benefit everyone — no matter their social status — instead of a “few oil tycoons” as he describes in the book.

“unlike oil, no one owns the sun. many people have described solar as a common resource, but my book describes a specific program for how to give everyone a piece of an economy that is based on solar energy,” stayton said. 

“instead of a few oligarchs making lots of money on oil, everyone would be making a modest amount on solar,” he said. “by providing a base level of economic security for everyone and by eliminating the need for conflict over oil, we create a more peaceful and just society.”

from president donald trump controversially tossing some paper towels into a crowd to organizations offering relief, there has been a large effort to give aid to puerto rico. one of the organizations that has helped rebuild puerto rico is the american society of civil engineers, or asce. not only is the asce helping to rebuild puerto rico but they also are updating their infrastructure to last around 50 to 100 years and be able to handle hurricanes with the same wrath as maria according to their standards. 

during the asce-led briefing, the main topic was updating puerto rico’s infrastructure to last and withstand deadly tropical storms in the longworth house office building on capitol hill on sept. 24. the moderators of the briefing called on a joining of forces between the federal government and the asce.

going into the briefing informing people of the asce 7 hazard tool which informs people on how to deal and be prepared for harsh conditions like hurricanes, ice storms, blizzards, and other types of inclement weather was a big point to get across. since the document’s last update in 2017, it now has information on hurricane-prone areas, as well as wind debris.

leading the briefing were multiple high ranking members of the asce: executive director tom smith; héctor colón de la cruz, who is the head of puerto rico’s infrastructure report card; otto lynch, who is the president and ceo of power line systems; and josefa torres-olivo, who is the district iii director of the rural community assistance partnership.

later in the discussion the republican congresswoman of puerto rico jenniffer gonzález-colón to reinforce what was being presented by the asce.

smith described some financial benefits that can be seen when it comes to reinforcing and strengthening communities to be better prepared for disasters.

“according to the national institute of building sciences, every dollar spent on pre-disaster mitigation and preparedness saves 6 dollars in rebuilding costs after a storm,” smith said.

smith also describes what the asce-7 was and just how in depth the document that the asce has presented with their standards is, and just how many people have put the time and dedication necessary to put something like this together.

“asce-7 is an 800-page document,” smith said. “we have hundreds of engineers who work on this document analyzing infrastructure and how it has performed across the world and testing it in labs.”

throughout the briefing, asce pushed their standards and explained how that can benefit areas that deal with numerous types of harsh storms.

lynch discussed how the bahamas updated their infrastructure according to the asce guidelines.

“i’ve been told by more than one source that every pole on that line survived hurricane dorian. that’s a category 5 storm that stayed over the island for 36 hours. follow these!” lynch said, as he shook a copy of the guidelines in his hand.

colón de la cruz would go on to explain puerto rico’s infrastructure strain, the aid it is receiving from congress and a new problem facing puerto rico’s reconstruction.

“congress allocated $42.5 billion for reconstruction purposes,” colón de la cruz said. “as of may 2019, only $15 billion has been delivered to puerto rico. it is important that the american government and puerto rico work together to deliver a more resilient infrastructure.” 

“looking forward in specific infrastructure energy was a headline, the energy blackout but we are also facing a new emergency,” colón de la cruz said. “last year the epa estimated that we only have 5 years left of capacity remaining in our landfills excluding the amount of debris that is going to be a part of the reconstruction efforts. it is also important to mention that only half of the landfills are compliant to epa standards.”

torres-olivo would go on to stress how resources like clean drinking water have been affected by hurricane maria for an area that already struggles to distribute clean water to people living there.

“the reality is that in an island topography and an infrastructure cost investment it is not feasible to perform in for the entire island,” torres-olivo said while describing how difficult it is to distribute water. 

rep. gonzález-colón would not speak until later in the briefing, however she still took advantage of her time. calling on both the federal government and the private sector to work together to help areas like puerto rico.

“one of the biggest challenges i have as a member of congress is that i don’t even have the correct data,” gonzález-colón said. “i rely on the private sector and i rely on ngo’s to gather that information.” 

gonzález-colón also went on to state how important improving puerto rico’s infrastructure will be and she expressed her confidence in the asce guidelines to accomplish that.

“we need to use the american society of civil engineer’s standards,” she said.

asce has the means of doing that.

“this is the only way for people to know what is going on back home,” gonzález-colón said.

sustainability is something that is becoming more of a necessity for colleges and universities to not only answer a call to action from students but to have a more positive effect on the planet. the suny system is doing their part with its clean energy roadmap that all suny schools must follow. 

the new plan, released by the suny chancellor in april, coincides with new york gov. andrew cuomo’s plan to reduce the state’s greenhouse gas emissions 40% by 2030. with more than 60 campuses and almost a half million students enrolled in the suny system, the universities are taking on a huge burden to make their schools more sustainable. 

the suny system has been known to take climate issues seriously and enact change. according to a suny report starting back in 1990, the system was able to cut its carbon emissions by 770,000 metric tons by 2017, which was a 25% decrease in that span. becoming more environmentally friendly also has been a better decision financially for suny since in the last decade they have saved more than $19 million in energy costs. 

kevin rice, the director of plant and energy management at suny brockport, said there are certain challenges when it comes to making a campus less harmful to the environment — even at smaller schools like brockport, with only around 10,000 enrolled underclassmen.

“i believe any transition to eco-friendly systems is about even for all sized institutes. it’s really dependent upon access to investment money,” rice said via email.

since the sustainability program was first announced, suny brockport already has accomplished some green initiatives on campus.

“the college has replaced around 80% of our boilers to high efficient models with variable frequency drives for circulation,” rice said. “we have had multiple small projects to upgrade almost 90% of our lighting to led. we have radically improved our energy control systems and now have close to 25,000 control points in our system that controls hvacr (heating ventilation air conditioning and refrigeration) in all buildings.”

but these are just highlights from one institution. all the colleges in the suny system are working together to make sure the goals proposed in the roadmap are being met. albany has become the headquarters for the clean energy roadmap. there other schools can communicate and plan the best course of action of managing their waste and energy, according to rice. 

communication is “mostly led by the suny energy management office in albany,” rice said. “they use workshops, conferences, webinars and newsletters to get info out. lots of ideas and best practices shared.”

outside of albany a school that has been able to lead by example is suny stony brook. according to dean tufts who is the vice president of facilities and services at stony brook, who cited the university’s past when it comes to energy conservation.

“we are proud to help lead not only suny, but all of new york state, when it comes to energy conservation,” tufts said. “suny is the largest consumer of energy of all the new york state agencies, and stony brook university is the largest consumer within suny.  with stony brook representing 18% of suny’s total energy use, and 8% of the total energy used in all new york state-owned buildings, we understand and embrace our responsibility to help lead this effort,” tufts added.

the plan suny proposed aims to create a more energy-efficient campuses by enforcing new building efficiency standards and new practices for energy management, as well as a new clean energy taskforce to oversee the whole system of schools. 

the suny system also wants to become a driving force in energy efficiency, with plans to use its research facilities to help drive innovations in the area.

stony brook already has eliminated more than 16,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions while saving $50 million with energy-saving upgrades, and received $500,000 in energy efficiency rebates, according to a report by long island business news. stony brook is also set to receive $79 million from gov. cuomo. the school plans to use this funding to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 28,000 tons, worth an additional $6 million in energy savings.

tufts stated how the school has saved millions.

“in spite of the campus adding nearly 1.5 million square feet of buildings since 2010, stony brook university’s energy conservation projects along with better operation of our central plants have reduced our energy usage by 16%. by the end of 2020, our energy reduction will equate to more than $12 million in avoided utility costs annually,” tufts said.

as suny becomes a leader in sustainability people can look at this as a sign that more and more institutions like colleges are taking the threat that is climate change very seriously, which would help keep the planet clean for generations to come.

the latest to join the fight against the climate crisis is the washington, d.c., suburb of arlington county, virginia, which recently announced their plans to have net-zero emissions and become carbon neutral by 2050.

despite arlington county’s recent announcement, they have been working for more than a decade now to become more eco-friendly. according to adam segel-moss, the county’s energy outreach specialist for the leadership in environmental and energy design, the process started in 2007 by cutting greenhouse gas emissions by a sizeable amount.

“to date, the county has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by 24% from 2007-2017,” segel-moss said.

he explained how arlington county plans to build on its previous accomplishments — and even take them a step further.

“we are going to have more stringent energy codes that make renovated buildings more energy efficient, incentivizing new buildings to be designed, built, and operated more efficiently than is required by code,” segel-moss said.

segel-moss also explained that the funding the county will receive will be put to good use to help “local and regional needs.” he also said transportation will go through a change, as the county aims to make it more energy efficient. 

a question that a lot of people have is how this eco-friendly transformation will affect the residents of arlington county. however, segel-ross is confident the changes will have very little effect on everyone’s daily routines.

“we expect these changes to be incremental and to have little effect on day-to-day life,” he said. “there will be small changes such as cleaner air due to electric vehicles and electric school buses being used. however, much of the work we do is invisible, such as building efficiency, accelerating a clean electric grid, creating low-carbon transit options, and ensuring new development is net-zero or well above baseline building code.”

the changing climate has become one of the biggest issues in the political arena, and more officials from every level of government have started to take notice — from arlington county to every presidential candidate. 

said segel-ross: “we have no choice but to do our part. climate change is serious. businesses, residents, and governments must act.”

the proposal, which has garnered support from almost all of the major democratic candidates, draws inspiration from the original new deal. just as the new deal the proposal is not just one piece of legislation but a series of new laws and programs to help combat climate change and social inequality by bringing in new jobs and infrastructure.

political divide

the green new deal, unsurprisingly has shown a divide between democrats and republicans. in a survey done by aei political research in january, 73% of democrats said the climate crisis should be a top priority while only 31% of republicans agreed. there is even more data that can be seen from aei that was used in a report by forbes.

perhaps the biggest doubter of the green new deal senate majority leader mitch mcconnell has gone as far to say it is “out of touch with the working american” and is a “socialist ideal.” the kentucky senator continued his verbal criticism of the plan after it was voted down by congress when he went on to call the proposal “nonsense.” according to a report by cnbc. the gop has been quoted as saying this proposal will drastically affect our day to day lives in areas from transportation to food consumption. and some republican politicians and pundits have stretched the truth when it comes to what exactly the green new deal will do. 

despite speaking out against the green new deal, adversaries of the proposal have yet to offer an alternative plan.

working with americans 

the proposal plans to work with american farmers, and the green new deal also puts americans to work by creating new jobs. their plan proposes moving away from jobs that involve earth’s limited resources, like fossil fuels, and encourages jobs in growing industries, such as wind or solar. 

ocasio-cortez has been adamantly defending her proposal, saying people in the lower and middle class need it the most.

“you want to tell people that their concern and their desire for clean air and clean water is elitist?” she said in a report by business insider. “tell that to the kids in the south bronx, which are suffering from the highest rates of childhood asthma in the country.” 

the green new deal also proposes to help clean up the waste that has been left behind from years of companies and citizens getting rid of their waste in hazardous ways. the proposal also intends to strengthen the clean water and air acts — something that many democratic candidates want to do as well — adding on to the revising of old pieces of legislation. there also are plans to update infrastructure and pipes to provide cleaner water.

one of the biggest concerns coming from the conservative side of the spectrum is that the proposal will take away jobs from americans working in factories or with companies that rely on coal, oil, and other not-so-clean sources of energy. however, the green new deal includes a plan that would transition those workers into jobs involving cleaner forms of energy, like solar or wind.

the green new deal has shown us all one thing: climate change is becoming more and more prevalent in our lives. with no precedent on how to deal with a looming crisis this large, it is hard to say what is and is not over the line. no matter what, ocasio-cortez has defended her proposal.

“forty years of free-market solutions have not changed our position,” ocasio-cortez said in march, as reported by nbc news. “so this does not mean that we change our entire structure of government, but what it means is that we need to do something. something!”

even though every major democratic candidate has told their base that climate change is a serious threat to not only the united states but the entire planet, they each have their unique take on how to deal with the issue. 

cnn planned a series of back-to-back town halls on climate issues for 10 of the democratic hopefuls, which aired starting at 5 p.m. et, sept. 4, on cnn.

before you watch them live, you can review each town hall participant’s plans to tackle climate change.

joe biden 

despite joe biden being viewed as a figurehead of the obama administration, the former vice president has pushed for more aggressive legislation to deal with climate than barack obama ever did, and it has gotten him praise from environmental activists. another change from biden’s past is that he now refuses to take any funding from oil, gas, and coal companies — similar to all other democratic candidates. according to inside climate news, biden does have some disagreements to more progressive pieces of legislation. unlike his younger — and perhaps more progressive — democratic colleagues, biden has some hangups when it comes to the green new deal. biden has come out and praised a lot of the legislation, with the exception of universal health care and jobs. biden’s plan is expected to cost around $3.3 trillion for the private sector. the former vice president does believe there should be some enforcement from the federal government to make companies cleaner but hasn’t stated any specifics on how to do that. 

cory booker 

sen. cory booker from new jersey plans to ban actions that he believes are harmful to the planet while strengthening communities and making them more sustainable with more efficient energy. booker plans to put an end to fracking as well as the use of crude oil. the new jersey senator also wants to put heavier taxes on companies that use coal, which will be used to clean up abandoned mines. he plans to help lower-income communities by adding more staff to epa enforcement offices, which also will help create cleaner water sources. companies also will have to do more when it comes to being cleaner, with booker proposing higher standards to clean water and air acts and there will also be an end to subsidies for fossil fuels.

pete buttigieg

even though mayor pete buttigieg is the youngest and most inexperienced candidate in the field, he is quickly becoming a force to be reckoned with, hitting every major qualifier for every debate so far. buttigieg has been pro green new deal and he also has proposed a “climate corps service program.” as mayor of south bend, indiana, he made strides making it more energy-efficient despite indiana being very reliant on coal as an energy source, according to a report from inside climate news. buttigieg’s proposed climate corps plan would “promote equity” and also “confront the climate crisis,” with a goal of helping communities become more sustainable for the future. buttigieg also plans to put a quick end to fracking, and ban fossil fuel development on federal lands, while exploring the use of soil capturing to reduce carbon emissions. 

julian castro 

climate change plays a huge role in one of julian castro’s biggest proposals, which is his “people first housing plan.” as a former secretary of housing in the obama administration, castro has used his strengths to combat the climate crisis. according to inside climate news castro’s plan has a $200 billion fund that would go toward strengthening infrastructure, while also making it more eco-friendly with getting away from sources like coal and oil and using more renewable energy. castro’s plan also will include zoning changes to help with housing, and push citizens to use public transportation in big city areas instead of personal vehicles. when it comes to more rural areas castro plans to create more sustainable farms while strengthening the epa and legislation like the clean water act. 

kamala harris

even though sen. kamala harris is from california, which is a state that takes the climate issue very seriously amongst its voters (according to the public policy institute of california 54% of californians believe the state should be a leader in combating climate change), her plan is not as detailed compared to other candidates.this has left many to wonder where she stands on things like carbon taxes and banning fracking. however, harris does have a strong background fighting for the climate when she was district attorney of california, winning cases against chevron, and more recently she has embraced the green new deal which has stated many times when asked about the issue. 

amy klobuchar

for most of sen. amy klobuchar’s goals, she says that as president she will reinstate multiple eco-friendly pieces of legislation that donald trump has let expire, like the clean power plan-  and aims to strengthen the epa, now controversially run by known climate change denier, scott pruitt. klobuchar also plans to make climate change information more prominent, since president trump has gone so far as to remove the phrase “climate change” from all epa reports and on official government websites. similar to the other democratic candidates klobuchar also plans to re-enter the paris agreement and make the united states a leader in the fight against climate change, citing the big carbon footprint that is being left behind by the federal government. 

beto o’rourke

when it comes to the candidate who almost took ted cruz’s senate seat in the state of texas, beto o’ rourke has a very extensive plan on how to deal with the changing climate, which includes a guarantee that the united states reaches net-zero emissions by 2050 and we would be halfway to that goal by 2030. o’rourke plans to accomplish this by using his executive strength to guard federal lands and not permitting any more leases that have to do with fossil fuels. the official o’rourke campaign site boasts that as president, o’ rourke would have the largest investment ever recorded on dealing with the climate crisis. o’rourke also has stated that he would not be afraid to use his executive power to have america re-enter the paris climate agreement on his first day as president after trump backed out in his first year in office. also, o’rourke plans to use $5 trillion to, in his words, “mobilize” congress to update and strengthen infrastructure to be more prepared for natural disasters. 

bernie sanders 

sen. bernie sanders has been a climate change activist long before the 2016 campaign that made him a household name. one of the unique items in sanders’ plan to combat climate change is the vehicle trade-in program which is similar to something the obama administration put through, but the difference here is the vehicles will be kinder to the environment than the cars given out almost a decade ago. sanders also plans to rebuild public transportation, citing that transportation leads to 29% of all greenhouse gas emissions, it is estimated to cost around $300 million. when it comes to fossil fuels, sanders will require the federal railroad administration to implement new rules in transporting and storing oil to prevent dangerous spills that are harmful to the environment. sanders also believes the united states should rejoin the paris agreement, saying the united states played a huge role in the climate crisis to begin with. but sanders also states that the agreement does not go far enough when it comes to avoiding that negative effects of global warming. 

elizabeth warren 

sen. elizabeth warren’s plan is estimated to be around a $2 trillion investment to fund researching and manufacturing clean energy in america, which would have a planet-wide effect of cutting greenhouse gases by 2030. like every other democratic candidate, warren plans to enter obama-era legislation like the paris agreement on the first day of her administration to have the country become a leader in fighting climate change once again. warren also will have publicly traded companies share how the changing climate affects their operations since, as of right now, most companies share little to no information to the public. warren calls this her “climate risk disclosure” plan. this plan will have companies use fossil fuel emissions to have to put more detailed records on the effects of climate change. warren also is willing to use her control of the u.s. armed forces to fight climate change by becoming more sustainable while being ready to combat the global crisis. warren’s campaign website cites how she was an original green new deal supporter and her proposals on how to combat the climate crisis have been supported by climate crisis activists such as al gore.

andrew yang 

andrew yang, an entrepreneur from california, is not like most of the other 2020 presidential candidates, and that can be seen especially for his plan to combat climate change. he is the only candidate so far to say we physically need to move people residing in coastal areas inland, citing that sea levels in states such as florida will see oceans rising as high as five feet. he also plans a tax on carbon that at some point could climb to $100 a ton. yang also has a timeline for abandoning fossil fuels that includes having all cars have net zero emissions by the year 2030. also, when it comes to transportation, there must be net-zero emissions from all vehicles by 2049. yang also plans to spend almost $500 billion over the next 20 years for “climate-related” projects, with $400 billion of that coming from donations and vouchers in an effort to get rid of oil, gas, and fuel lobbyists — and their influence on the environment.