States with poor climate policy ‘overlap’ with those seeking to limit rights, Kamala Harris says
AUSTIN, Texas — Texas has more than 15,000 square miles of water and one of the best climates in the world – including the top five national parks, five national monuments, and more than 70 state parks. Yet, in 2014, Texans who lived or worked in those places faced the possibility of being denied access to their state parks, parks within 15 miles of their homes, and the National Park Service sites that were under their parks.
These places made the list just because of where you live. Texas’ climate isn’t great. And that is not even an exaggeration. One of the hottest on the planet, Texas averages more than a foot of rain a year and has a significant drought, often times in the most populous state.
“A lot of Texans know they live in a dangerous, unstable environment, and they don’t want to be exposed to that,” Harris said, “So they leave.”
Harris has made the issue of climate change and its impact on the natural resources of Texas a top issue that she has been passionate about. She’s a co-chair of the Texas delegation at the Democratic National Convention.
But, in the past few years, Harris has faced criticism from some in the environmental community, who are unhappy with her record on how she has handled climate issues.
Harris has argued that she is “one of the strongest champions of combating greenhouse gas emissions in history,” and has said she “believes Texas needs to do a lot more to reduce the emissions that make our climate dangerous.”
Her critics say Harris has failed to adequately address their concerns about Texans not wanting to be exposed to extreme weather events.
And they say she hasn’t been as effective as she should have been in implementing some of her climate policies, including an aggressive goal to cut the state’s emissions by 70 percent by 2050.
In March, Gov. Greg Abbott, a Republican, told reporters