Are Texas lawmakers in line with voters on climate change?
PLANO — From the solar panels on his roof to the electric car in his garage, it's evident Larry Howe cares about climate change.
"The science is pretty well established," Howe said. "You keep adding more heat-trapping gases in the atmosphere, what's going to happen?"
In 2012, Howe founded a nonprofit dedicated to educating Plano residents about solar power. And he spends his free time volunteering with the grassroots environmental group Citizens' Climate Lobby.
Howe has documented his climate journey in online blog posts and calls climate change his No. 1 issue for the November election.
Some might quickly stereotype him as a liberal environmentalist, but Howe is a lifelong Republican. And with the election nearing, Howe said he finds himself at a crossroad.
"If you want my vote, you've got to step up on climate and prioritize the issue," Howe said. "If you're not prioritizing that issue with the body of evidence on it, then how can I trust you on national security, the border, immigration, the budget — any of those other issues?"
Public opinion vs. political rhetoric
According to the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication, three out of four Texans believe global warming is happening, and nearly two out of three are worried about it. Meanwhile, some Republican lawmakers have downplayed climate concerns and oppose popular climate policies.
- Yale polling shows 56% of Texans believe global warming is caused mostly by human activity. According to the Center for American Progress, 123 members of Congress, including 10 from Texas, have publicly questioned the role humans have had on climate change.
- Polling revealed 71% of Texans support regulating carbon dioxide as a pollutant. This year's Texas GOP platform supports the "reclassification of carbon dioxide as a non-pollutant."
- The poll also shows 68% of Texans believe global warming will harm future generations. Last month, Sen. Ted Cruz sent a letter to NASA, writing that the agency's Climate Kids website is fueling youth anxiety with misleading "doomsday" scenarios.
Why the disconnect?
Although he's identified as a conservative his whole life, Howe doesn't feel his opinions on climate change are aligned with the Texas Republican Party's views.
Dallas GOP Chair, Ret. Lt. Col. Allen West, said that while climate change isn't the top priority for the state party, they do care about it.
"Am I concerned about the environment — absolutely," West said. "But I don't want to see us get into a state of alarmism."
West said the problem is the proposed solutions coming from the left are too extreme and would limit people's freedoms.
"I would just like to see some simple reasonable minds, that are not trying to put people in one camp or another, sit down and solve this thing," West said. "When you are telling me I 'have to,' then for whatever reason, I'm hitting the off switch. When you are telling me I have to buy an EV, when you are telling me I have to have a different type of washer, dryer, stove and all of these things — then you are losing me. You are losing the argument."
David Spence, a professor at the University of Texas Law School, said in recent years the argument about climate change has become louder and more divisive.
"There is name-calling, and nastiness and caricature in both directions online," he said.
Spence takes a hard look at the politics of climate change in his new book, Climate of Contempt. In it, he writes that political polarization and misinformation have stalled climate policies that most Americans would support. In an interview with CBS News Texas, he said the solution won't come overnight.
"I think we got here through a slow process of changing the information environment and how we consume and process information," Spence said. "We are going to have to correct that through the slow process of talking to one another across ideological boundaries in a civil and respectful way."
Confronting his Representative
In August, Howe attended a town hall meeting in Plano hosted by Republican Congressman Pat Fallon. Fallon said no question was off limits.
So Howe, who lives in Fallon's district, submitted a written question about whether Fallon would support efforts to educate the public about the science of climate change.
When Fallon read the question, he said Howe's idea was great. He then spent 12 minutes talking about his views on the climate change debate.
"Let's be real about what we can do and not just say all these rainbowy things to get votes and brainwash the next generation with climate alarmists," Fallon said at the town hall meeting.
After the meeting ended, Howe said that while Fallon addressed his question, he wasn't quite satisfied with the answer.
"It had more misleading information than information that would help bring us together," Howe said. "That's what was missing."
CBS News Texas asked for an interview with the congressman after the town hall meeting, but staff said his schedule was too tight.
What Texas' political parties have to say about the environment
The Texas Republican Party devotes about 900 words of its 2024 platform to energy and environmental issues.
On the issue of the environment, the platform reads in part:
"We oppose environmentalism, or 'climate change' initiatives, that obstruct legitimate business interests and private property use, including the regulatory use limitations and confiscation by governmental agencies. We support the reclassification of carbon dioxide as a non-pollutant, abolition of the Environmental Protection Agency, and repeal of the Endangered Species Act"
Read the full Texas GOP platform by clicking here.
The Texas Democratic Party spends more than 2,000 words on the issue. Part of their platform reads:
"Climate change is real; and it threatens all that we value, from the health of our loved ones to the strength of our economy to the safety and security of Texans and all humankind. As the world's leader in energy technology and innovation for the past century, Texas must now become the world leader in clean energy and environmental consciousness."
Read the full Texas Democratic Party platform by clicking here.
For more information about how Texans feel about the issue, visit the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication's website.
