How might lawmakers prioritize the climate with skeptics in power?

The Wheelhouse

How might lawmakers prioritize the climate with skeptics in power?

By Frankie Graziano,

Published December 11, 2024 at 7:15 AM EST

Fallen ice melts in an ice cave created by meltwater at the retreating Castner Glacier in the Alaska Range on May 5, 2023 near Paxson, Alaska. The ice cave is slowly collapsing after a surge of meltwater and high temperatures last summer. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), 鈥榯he state is warming at two to three times the rate of the global average鈥� amid climate change. A 2021 study, using twenty years of data from NASA鈥檚 Terra satellite, found that nearly all of the world鈥檚 glaciers are melting, with fifty percent of the planet鈥檚 glacial loss happening in the U.S. and Canada.

The Earth is warming at an unprecedented rate and humans are responsible. That鈥檚 according to . But a new administration is taking over the White House that has a . What鈥檒l be done over the next few years to address climate change?

In the past few years, lawmakers in 黑料吃瓜网 have gotten closer to meaningful legislation that would lower a vehicle鈥檚 carbon footprint. They鈥檝e also introduced a targeting food scraps in an effort to reduce waste.

Their job may get harder.

President-elect Donald Trump's record on climate change is already forcing state lawmakers to re-think local policy changes. A week after the election, Gov. Ned Lamont said he鈥檚 no longer pursuing a mandate that would鈥檝e phased out sales of new gas-powered vehicles in the state by 2035.

Today on the Wheelhouse, how initiatives seeking to curb climate change will be impacted by the 2024 election.

GUESTS:

Michayla Savitt: State government reporter, 黑料吃瓜网
: Climate zeitgeist reporter, The Washington Post
: Senior climate and environment reporter, WBUR

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Frankie Graziano

Frankie Graziano is the host of 'The Wheelhouse,' focusing on how local and national politics impact the people of 黑料吃瓜网.

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Chloe Wynne

Chloe Wynne is a producer for 'The Wheelhouse' and 'Where We Live.' She previously worked as a producer and reporter for the investigative podcast series, 'Admissible: Shreds of Evidence,' which was co-produced by VPM and Story Mechanics and distributed by iHeartRadio. She began her journalism career at inewsource, an investigative newsroom in San Diego, Calif., where she covered housing, education and crime. She earned her master鈥檚 degree from Columbia Journalism School in 2021, where she focused on audio storytelling.

See stories by Chloe Wynne