Colorado state representative J. Paul Brown’s recent comments questioning human involvement in climate change shows not only the lawmaker’s lack of scientific context, but his lack of touch with the direction of his own political party. At the national level, 13 Republican House members, led by Chris Gibson of New York, have already cosponsored a bill acknowledging humans as a cause of climate change.
The Republican Party has steadily moved away from climate change denial rhetoric, and they will need to continue this trend to continue to win elections. The Republican Party is in desperate need of millennial votes; one issue on which millennials are incredibly decided is climate change. According to an NBC poll, millennials are “more focused on the environment than their parents’ generation” by a margin of 76 to 24 percent.
This is an issue which will affect the future of our nation, and if J. Paul Brown continues to ignore the issue, it will affect the future of his career.
Phil Carter
Durango
