One of the wildest races in American politics is heating up as fast as the North Arctic.  In Alaska, mailboxes are stuffed with flyers from some of the 48 contenders campaigning to finish the term vacated by Representative Don Young, the legendary congressman who died in March.  Voters have until June 11 to pick just one candidate.  From there, the top four vote-getters will square off in a special general election determined by ranked-choice ballot in August.  All of this unravels while the regular election for Young’s seat takes place in the lead-up to the general election in November – and by many of the same candidates.  If any of this sounds confusing, that’s because it is.  It’s the first time anything like it has been carried out in Alaska to the point where no one really knows what to expect.  

And it’s an important race.  Like all other midterm elections, these contests will help forecast what remains of President Biden’s first term.  This includes whether Congress will pass before Election Day his proposed budget, with almost $45 billion set aside to deal with global warming.  Republicans could retake control of one or both chambers of Congress further derailing Biden’s climate goals already saddled with setbacks and war.  So, the stakes are high. 

It’s true, the president’s $5.8 trillion budget, overall, is ambiguous if not contradictory at times in how the federal government will address the nation’s leading contributors to greenhouse gas emissions.  This includes vehicles.  One Department of Transportation program would actually encourage more driving by building new highways and fixing existing roads and bridges.  Just 15% of the agency’s budget would go toward mass transit, according to one projection.  Meanwhile, permitting for more oil and gas drilling would continue. 

There are warning signs ahead.  No truer is this reality than in Alaska where, this week, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers met with the Iñupiaq leaders of Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow) to discuss next year’s construction of a $5 million seawall.  Rising sea levels threaten the coastal community.  Meanwhile, the NOAA, last month, designated a giant swath of warming waters in the Arctic as “critical habitat” that endanger the ringed and bearded seals – subsistence sources that the Iñupiaq and Yu’pik have survived on since the dawn of time.

“This is a national and international emergency, and it's really nothing that we should be playing politics with,” said George Donart, a volunteer organizer with the Alaska branch of the Citizens Climate Lobby. 

Coastal erosion in Utqiagvik, formerly Barrow, Alaska U.S. Army Corps of Engineers - Alaska Division

But in one of the most imperiled places on the planet, one would think that Alaska’s adoption of rank choice voting, which boosts candidates of any political stripe based on popularity, would have inspired a climate candidate to run for office.  It hasn’t.   Instead there’s only climate silence.

In a field of 55 candidates for one U.S. House seat including those running in the general primary, and 18 others in the race to oust Lisa Murkowski from the U.S. Senate, fewer than 2% are addressing our environment like the life and death situation that it is.  Roughly a third more are campaigning on platforms that promote “energy independence.”  Such buzz words in the Far North mostly translate into drilling for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (ANWR), a reminder of the fossil fuel industry’s firm grip on Alaska, but on elections, overall. 

Barb Bingham, another volunteer organizer with CCL, said the role of the environmental voter needs to be considered.  “Rank choice is good for climate policy, but it's not going to happen automatically.  We're going to really have to push,” said Bingham. “Every one of us needs to be asking every one of our candidates ‘what are your solutions for the problems that we're facing?’”  

Right now, those voter interests aren’t coming across really anywhere at the national polls, except one place: Texas’s 28th Congressional District.  Predominantly Latin American, voters there suffered a deadly freeze, last year.  This year, they’re throwing their support behind immigration attorney Jessica Cisneros who stands a fighting chance after this week’s Democratic primary remains too close to call.  Her oppenent, Rep. Henry Cuellar is one of the biggest recipients of fossil fuel money in Congress.  Cisneros, on the other hand, has vowed to reject any donation linked to the oil and gas industry.

Alaska At-Large U.S. House Candidate, Sarah Palin in Fairbanks, Alaska Jenni Monet

It helps set the tone for what we can expect this election season.  It also plays like a sequel.  The mostly white and male gang of lawmakers are the ones who harangued Haaland as part of her confirmation process, last year. 

• And if you listen closely to the hearing, you’ll note that wildfires are of top of mind for many politicians whose western states are grappling with a 1200 year drought.  It’s true – 1200 years.  Here’s the full study, and here’s the quick take from the Times.
• Lastly, a fun little quiz from NASA about what you think you know about climate change. I admit, I fumbled on a question or two.

@Isigurok

The EPA Moves to Block the Pebble Mine

Seeks Public Comment by July 5

 Please welcome Jesse Foley-Tapia to Indigenously

 "Nice job summing up a difficult and expansive issue."