

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
To donate by check, phone, or other method, see our More Ways to Give page.


Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.

Young demonstrators join the International Youth Climate Strike event at the Capitol in Washington, Friday, March 15, 2019. (Photo: J. Scott Applewhite/AP)
A petition calling on 2020 Democratic presidential candidates to hold a climate-specific debate has garnered over 30,000 signatures in just around 48 hours, providing evidence of the widespread grassroots pressure on White House hopefuls to offer bold and detailed solutions to the ecological crisis.
"Let's be sure we hear how candidates plan to stop companies accountable for polluting our water and air and what they think about opening up federal land to fracking, drilling, and trophy hunting."
--U.S. Youth Climate Strike
Led by the U.S. Youth Climate Strike team, the petition aims to "ensure environmental issues from climate change, access to clean water, environmental racism, and everything in between that are disproportionately impacting people of color and working class folks are given the serious attention they deserve."
"With the magnitude of the oncoming climate crisis it's no longer sufficient to have a single token environmental question that 2020 candidates get to brush off with a soundbite. We need an entire debate on environmental policies," reads the petition, which will be delivered to 2020 Democratic presidential candidates and the Democratic National Committee.
"Let's be sure we hear how candidates plan to stop companies accountable for polluting our water and air and what they think about opening up federal land to fracking, drilling, and trophy hunting," the document continues.
As of this writing, 30,007 people have signed the petition.
Let's turn up the pressure. Sign, and share as much as you can. We need environmental policy specifics. We need a climate debate. #ClimateDebate https://t.co/65qmtSlsnX pic.twitter.com/jvZinET144
-- US Youth Climate Strike (@usclimatestrike) April 16, 2019
On Tuesday, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee became the first 2020 presidential candidate to express support for a climate-specific debate with a petition of his own.
"Each 2020 nominee needs to have a concrete plan to address climate change--and we deserve to hear those plans," Inslee wrote in an email to supporters.
As Common Dreams reported last December, the DNC announced it will hold 12 total presidential primary debates.
Mounting pressure on the DNC to schedule a climate-only debate comes as the youth-led Sunrise Movement and other environmental groups continue to mobilize nationwide to build grassroots support for the Green New Deal.
In 2016, climate change almost never came up during presidential debates. As scientists warn only rapid and drastic action to slash carbon emissions will be enough to avert planetary disaster, youth climate leaders are working to make sure this doesn't happen again.
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
A petition calling on 2020 Democratic presidential candidates to hold a climate-specific debate has garnered over 30,000 signatures in just around 48 hours, providing evidence of the widespread grassroots pressure on White House hopefuls to offer bold and detailed solutions to the ecological crisis.
"Let's be sure we hear how candidates plan to stop companies accountable for polluting our water and air and what they think about opening up federal land to fracking, drilling, and trophy hunting."
--U.S. Youth Climate Strike
Led by the U.S. Youth Climate Strike team, the petition aims to "ensure environmental issues from climate change, access to clean water, environmental racism, and everything in between that are disproportionately impacting people of color and working class folks are given the serious attention they deserve."
"With the magnitude of the oncoming climate crisis it's no longer sufficient to have a single token environmental question that 2020 candidates get to brush off with a soundbite. We need an entire debate on environmental policies," reads the petition, which will be delivered to 2020 Democratic presidential candidates and the Democratic National Committee.
"Let's be sure we hear how candidates plan to stop companies accountable for polluting our water and air and what they think about opening up federal land to fracking, drilling, and trophy hunting," the document continues.
As of this writing, 30,007 people have signed the petition.
Let's turn up the pressure. Sign, and share as much as you can. We need environmental policy specifics. We need a climate debate. #ClimateDebate https://t.co/65qmtSlsnX pic.twitter.com/jvZinET144
-- US Youth Climate Strike (@usclimatestrike) April 16, 2019
On Tuesday, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee became the first 2020 presidential candidate to express support for a climate-specific debate with a petition of his own.
"Each 2020 nominee needs to have a concrete plan to address climate change--and we deserve to hear those plans," Inslee wrote in an email to supporters.
As Common Dreams reported last December, the DNC announced it will hold 12 total presidential primary debates.
Mounting pressure on the DNC to schedule a climate-only debate comes as the youth-led Sunrise Movement and other environmental groups continue to mobilize nationwide to build grassroots support for the Green New Deal.
In 2016, climate change almost never came up during presidential debates. As scientists warn only rapid and drastic action to slash carbon emissions will be enough to avert planetary disaster, youth climate leaders are working to make sure this doesn't happen again.
A petition calling on 2020 Democratic presidential candidates to hold a climate-specific debate has garnered over 30,000 signatures in just around 48 hours, providing evidence of the widespread grassroots pressure on White House hopefuls to offer bold and detailed solutions to the ecological crisis.
"Let's be sure we hear how candidates plan to stop companies accountable for polluting our water and air and what they think about opening up federal land to fracking, drilling, and trophy hunting."
--U.S. Youth Climate Strike
Led by the U.S. Youth Climate Strike team, the petition aims to "ensure environmental issues from climate change, access to clean water, environmental racism, and everything in between that are disproportionately impacting people of color and working class folks are given the serious attention they deserve."
"With the magnitude of the oncoming climate crisis it's no longer sufficient to have a single token environmental question that 2020 candidates get to brush off with a soundbite. We need an entire debate on environmental policies," reads the petition, which will be delivered to 2020 Democratic presidential candidates and the Democratic National Committee.
"Let's be sure we hear how candidates plan to stop companies accountable for polluting our water and air and what they think about opening up federal land to fracking, drilling, and trophy hunting," the document continues.
As of this writing, 30,007 people have signed the petition.
Let's turn up the pressure. Sign, and share as much as you can. We need environmental policy specifics. We need a climate debate. #ClimateDebate https://t.co/65qmtSlsnX pic.twitter.com/jvZinET144
-- US Youth Climate Strike (@usclimatestrike) April 16, 2019
On Tuesday, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee became the first 2020 presidential candidate to express support for a climate-specific debate with a petition of his own.
"Each 2020 nominee needs to have a concrete plan to address climate change--and we deserve to hear those plans," Inslee wrote in an email to supporters.
As Common Dreams reported last December, the DNC announced it will hold 12 total presidential primary debates.
Mounting pressure on the DNC to schedule a climate-only debate comes as the youth-led Sunrise Movement and other environmental groups continue to mobilize nationwide to build grassroots support for the Green New Deal.
In 2016, climate change almost never came up during presidential debates. As scientists warn only rapid and drastic action to slash carbon emissions will be enough to avert planetary disaster, youth climate leaders are working to make sure this doesn't happen again.