Energy & Environment

Indiana, along with the rest of the country must invest more time and research into transitioning to cleaner energy. It doesn’t matter if there is proof of global warming or not. We don’t need evidence or research to convince us to care for what we already know is our only home in the universe.

On clean energy and the environment, our past senators have been no friend. For example, years ago, one of our senators (Senator Todd Young) promised he would vote against any type of global warming legislation. In our time period, this just isn't realistic. We need senators who will make sure the Environmental Protection Agency is able to do its job and regulate greenhouse gases.

Remember. Real leaders don’t wait until they see danger on the horizon, but plan ahead and employ techniques for prevention. I believe our time for using fossil fuels is coming to an end and rather than be abruptly surprised by depletion, we need to plan ahead now to ensure future generations can be comfortable and current energy suppliers are ready for transition. At this stage, preparing for a greener future is just common sense.

The decision of a former administration (in 2017) to pull the U.S. from its participation in the 2015 Paris Agreement was disappointing. While the agreement wasn’t perfect it still represented a step in the right direction for most of the world.

As a legislator, I will support the Paris Agreement and any other form of legislation that mirrors its purpose and goals because we can no longer afford to continue looking away from the climate crisis. Each country must be responsible and do their part. In 2019, the Environmental Protection Agency reported that Indiana had released more toxic chemicals and pollution into the environment than 44 other states. What in Sam Hell?

Anyone who believes this has no impact on their personal health isn’t thinking at all. To be more specific, take for example the City of Gary. According to the report (2019), the city released the most toxins in the entire state. This is a great tragedy because Gary is also a predominantly African American city with a growing number of senior citizens in it. To ensure this doesn't continue like this, we must be proactive and start doing something about it now. It's time to take action!

While I would like to think we, as humans have advanced since the fire discovery, I am continually disappointed to see that we still haven’t quite completely moved on from using dead dinosaurs as our fuel. I’m equally disappointed that we continue to pollute our neighborhoods with it. I believe we could be much further than we are now in the transition to cleaner energy, but our progress continues to be stunted by leaders who just don't care.

This is why as a future member of the U.S. Senate I plan to work on the following:

Forming a new task force of clean energy experts and energy providers/suppliers from all over the world for the purpose of discovering how we can best move forward together toward using cleaner forms of energy for the good of all humanity over time in a way that doesn’t isolate suppliers but includes them and workers in the process. Workers should not be forced to leave their fossil fuel industry jobs but be given the opportunity to transition with their employers.
Forming legislation that helps significantly reduce human waste and addresses sewage treatment and toxic waste dump, exploring new waste technologies and expanding domestic recycling systems. Ex. Work with companies to create more biodegradable and earth-friendly materials (to replace plastic bags and other materials that pollute our land and water).
Creating and supporting any legislation that invests in the economic transition to zero emission vehicles, clean and renewable energy, and green products, and expanding refundable tax credits for installing energy efficiency upgrades
Supporting any international legislation (such as the Paris Agreement) which encourages countries to be on one accord when it comes to preventing air and water pollution, reducing carbon emissions, etc.
Creating and co-sponsoring legislation that helps prevent global warming and reduces carbon emissions generally
Creating and co-sponsoring legislation that provides funding to update power grids
Creating legislation that uses a combination of economic incentives and penalizations for carbon emissions; the cost of pollution should not be shifted away from polluters onto society