Democrats pass meaningful climate policies

Extreme climate weather disasters are speeding up. In the last month, four very rare rainfall events occurred, flooding St. Louis, eastern Kentucky, southeastern Illinois and Dallas. Taxpayers will pay billions to clean up the mess. Think of it as your climate change denial tax.

Iowans are lucky we dodged these intense storms. Because with slightly different paths some could have just as easily ruined your home, farm, business, neighborhood and way of life. These “extreme weather roulette” disasters along with much hotter heat waves, and droughts have been predicted by scientists for decades, with more on the way.

There is good news. Thanks to President Joe Biden, Congresswoman Cindy Axne and Congressional Democrats’ leadership, they finally passed The Inflation Reduction Act, that contains the most meaningful policies and tools ever approved to help us slow this costly, calamitous threat.

With depressing predictability, not a single Iowa Republican lawmaker including Chuck Grassley, Joni Ernst, Ashley Hinson, Mariannette Miller-Meeks or Randy Feenstra voted to support these solutions.

Why? Here are a few possible reasons. Don’t we already have enough trees around here? The first big lie, “it’s all a hoax” still is working? All of the above?

In just a few short decades from now, our kids and grandkids will be able to look back at this historic moment, and say, when Democrats were in charge in the early 20s, they finally got a great start on making our future one we can afford to live with. Voting had good consequences.

State Sen. Joe Bolkcom

Iowa City