Speaking of the Outdoors
by Kana Rasmussen
While canvassing for Harris (and some smaller local elections) last year, I saw that a person on my list was already outside his house, washing the car. He had a bike rack, and two kayaks were lying out in the yard.
Perfect, I thought; this is a perfect person to talk to. We chatted about the outdoors for a while, about our shared interests in hiking and kayaking. About how we both cared deeply about the lakes and parks in Eau Claire and the surrounding areas. I asked him about his political beliefs; he didn’t have any particularly strong ones. Again, perfect. An undecided voter who loves the outdoors. From there, I told him how I thought, if he felt strongly about nature and preserving it, that voting Democrat would be the best option in the upcoming election. He seemed convinced. I was glad I met him.
I think this says a lot. Because we didn’t have to talk about anything else. We didn’t even talk about politics, not really, at least. The outdoors speaks for itself in a way that I don’t think any other issue does.
Ever since I was old enough to remember, my dad and I have been talking about taking a trip to the Boundary Waters at the Canadian border. He’s told me endless stories about the many trips he’s taken, fishing all day long and canoeing through water that was so clean you could drink it straight out of the lake.
We haven’t made it there yet, but we hope to before it’s too late. Leakage from nearby mining sites threatens to pollute the clean water, causing the pH to decrease due to the acidity. The crystal clear waters will no longer be just that. And the change is extremely detrimental to aquatic and land wildlife alike due to the soil contamination that accompanies water pollution. With all the mining threats around the area, I only hope that we can go soon enough so that it’s the same Boundary Waters that my dad remembers, and not one suffering from toxins.
And at the end of the day, it really upsets me to know that the environment is not more of a bipartisan issue.
So many Wisconsin Republicans and Democrats alike love to fish and hunt and camp. It might even be the reason that they choose to live in this state. But again and again, Republican lawmakers consistently vote on bills that open up public land, forests and waters for a variety of man-made desires: luxury apartments, huge chain grocery stores, grotesquely large parking ramps. Slaughtering of a grove of coniferous trees to build the luxury apartments. Massive mineral mining operations because we refuse to learn how to recycle properly. The list goes on and on.
Since the industrial revolution, we’ve watched our land and natural resources slowly get eaten away by mechanical decay. Now that we have the scientific research to understand why we need to put an immediate pause on destroying more natural areas, we know we need to instead focus on restoring them and finding renewable ways to get the energy and materials we need to survive.
But no matter what, there’s always a Republican lawmaker who advertises that they’re: Just Like You! They love hunting and snowshoeing and camping! But, predictably, when it’s time for them to vote on a bill that either benefits corporate America or forests and wildlife, their decision is already made. Whether it be pressure from a business wanting to profit off the land or from their similarly-minded conservative peers; or maybe just a lack of caring for the environment, their ballot goes out.
Here’s the thing I think Democrats and progressives have to consider: We can’t just plow forward with our “typical” environmental agenda. It’ll always be difficult with the other party championing for the environment yet caring so little about the negative impacts they’re allowing.
It’s time to talk to people. People who might consider themselves further to the right, undecided voters, first time voters. People who realize that you can’t hunt deer in a strip mall or climb trees in a parking lot.
Republicans don’t like to listen to Democrats, but if we can get the moderate voters–whom legislators and lawmakers count on for votes–to rally together for the health of our environment, I really think that is where we can begin to make real, quality change on a large scale.
I truly believe that people care more about the planet we live on than they let on. At a time when the political climate is so polarized and each party is so divided, this is the only issue that I can imagine crossing the first party lines to a more unified approach on politics.
Because at the end of the day, we all live under the same sun and grow our plants from the same soil.
About the Writer: Kana Rasmussen is a sophomore at Memorial High School and co-president of the High School Democrats.