Maryland student organization addressing climate change concerns to voters

BALTIMORE -- A student organization at the University of Maryland is raising awareness about climate change and its impact on the environment.

Climate change concerns continue to grow all around the country and Maryland is following the trend, even in red-leaning areas.

For the majority of Americans, though, it's still not enough to drive peoples' votes come election day.

American Conservation Coalition, a student group at the University of Maryland, is trying to make the public aware of climate change, no matter one's politics.

Climate change is like a dark cloud over Sam Krakow's future.

"I'm studying to be a teacher, and as a teacher, I don't want my future students to live in a world, or grow up in a world that is unsafe for them," he said.

Climate change is something Elizabeth Morrison saw right on her doorstep in Northern California.

"Wildfires were coming up and becoming more serious of an issue," Morrison said.

Morrison, Krakow and Sasha Kreis are stopping at nothing to save the environment, which is why they joined the American Conservation Coalition. The ACC started in 2017, built on the idea of bolstering the conservative environmental movement.

But for these three, saving the environment has no room for politics.

"At the end of the day, when you're talking about the environment and about environmental reform, it touches every single aspect of our society," Kreis said. "It touches zoning laws, it touches education, it touches racial, gender and economic barriers. It's everything in the society."

Increased concern over climate change

Seventy percent of Marylanders are worried about global warming, according to the latest Yale Climate Opinion Maps data. Even in MD-01, the state's most Republican-leaning district, 64% are worried.

MD-01 has been home to several climate change-related incidents and concerns. 

Over the summer, Harford County residents saw some of the worst flooding they've ever seen. On Maryland's Eastern Shore, WJZ has reported rising sea levels have been destroying farmland.

"Basically, it's been damaged so much you can't do much with it," said one farmer.

Climate change concerns at the polls

Dr. Roger Hartley, Dean of the University of Baltimore's College of Public Affairs, said there's no doubt climate change is becoming a top issue for voters. But, it's just not the No.1 issue driving their votes.

"I think it would be safe to say that it's very important to a significant amount of the electorate," Hartley said. "But, there are a lot of other issues that crowd out the importance of issues at different times. So, climate change is still important, but is it more important than the economy?"

Hartley said climate change isn't just a younger generation's concern anymore. UMD's ACC chapter agrees, saying that finding a middle ground is key to connecting on this issue.

"When Maryland's suddenly not getting snow as it used to, [the humidity is so high it feels like] they're walking out in a swamp," Kreis said. "People are noticing that and I think that that is an intergenerational thing you can't ignore."

Morrison adds it's about stressing the importance of acting now, rather than later.

"When we see [climate change] as like, 'Oh, we need to get this completed by a certain year,' we don't necessarily see a grave impact," she said. "We [feel like] we have so much time."

But, most importantly, they want everyone to buy in, saying no one can afford to lose Earth.

"We just want you to come, sit in with us, hear what your perspective on this is, because that's how issues get solved. It's not [done with] a group of like-minded people," Krakower said.

To follow the work of UMD's ACC chapter, you can follow them on Instagram here.