Triple Bottom Line: Career politicians lack climate urgency

There’s a video of California Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein that lives in my head rent-free. If you don’t already know what I’m referring to, here’s the brief summary — the clip depicts Feinstein arguing over the hypothetical passage of the Green New Deal with a group of children from the Sunrise Movement, a climate advocacy organization.

 “I’ve been doing this for 30 years. I know what I’m doing,” Feinstein tells the kids, referring to an alternative, more moderate climate proposal that she was planning to introduce to the Senate. Spoiler alert — the bill has yet to pass the Senate’s introduction stage.

I’m not sure what scares me more — Feinstein’s abrupt response to the young climate activists, or the fact she’s been in office since Bill Clinton was president. Historically, Congress has failed to effectively pass environmental policy because of contingent factors that may suffer as a result of stricter legislation, such as the economy. These efforts are only as valid as their weakest link, so to speak. More intentional environmental legislation starts with more intentional legislators. 

The concept of a “career politician” ruins what it means to be a civil servant. Instead of making the most of a limited office term, many local, state and federal government employees play the long game. While politicians have to, arguably, actually accomplish things in office to have a viable shot at reelection, they generally shun radical change or systemic upheaval in favor of more politically amicable bills, laws and cross-party compromise. 

Instead of attempting significant changes, politicians prioritize improving their approval rating because they fear polarizing their constituency. A politician’s career is now viable at the expense of effective — yet controversial — climate improvement. 

In today’s political climate, there’s no doubt you have to play the game. New York Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is the perfect example. As a fiery outsider looking to oust a longtime incumbent, she was the definition of a grassroots organizer looking to rearrange the establishment with her Democratic-Socialist ideas. Perhaps working within the system is the only way to achieve change in the establishment bureaucracy. 

However, AOC’s priorities have shifted now that she is an incumbent. In a vote to fund Israel’s military forces in September, she abstained while her Democratic colleagues rejected it. At the 2021 Met Gala, she made a — in my opinion, rather confusing — statement by wearing a dress emblazoned with “Tax the Rich” at an event that epitomizes U.S. elitism. 

Perhaps eliminating the ability to spend an entire career in public office could motivate AOC and the bill’s co-sponsors to take the Green New Deal from an umbrella concept to reality. If Congressional representatives were limited to one term in the House, perhaps they would draft specificities and smaller pieces of legislation rather than advertising an optical, far-reaching “socialist super-package.”

As a result of increasingly lax term limits, people such as Feinstein spend their entire adult lives building a political office career. Trump’s rather ironic trope about Biden’s physical and mental fitness to run the country is actually a legitimate concern for all of our politicians, although not for the reasons one might think. 

As America’s political leaders’ average ages and lifetime expectancies continue to rise, so does the urgency to address the climate crisis. With all due respect, Feinstein perfectly exemplifies an older generation who simply won’t bear the same brunt of the impact as the young activists she discouraged.

I’m in no way implying that a political leader’s age affects their ability to do their job just as effectively. As Feinstein said herself, she has multiple decades of experience in handling political issues. 

However, priorities change across generations. A politician who already has kids and grandchildren may not feel the same urgency to remediate pollution or the microplastic crisis as a college student who has yet to enter the real world. 

As far as the case for climate change goes, we need more diverse representation in our government to assess the situation’s nuances and craft adequate policy accordingly. Career politicians crowd the way for newcomers who reflect the diversity of constituencies around the country, whether it be age, ethnicity, sexual orientation, socioeconomic status or able.

In order to achieve the kind of drastic environmental policy we so desperately need, we must also reframe the way we perceive our political leaders. In no world should politicians have celebrity status cough cough. Because they’re leaders of society with very real responsibilities, they should be held accountable for their actions just like anyone else. 

We’re a long way from the system I’m suggesting here — stringent term limits, greater representation, a political environment that isn’t riddled with lobbyists, nepotism and the power of money — but the future of the environment begins with the law laid down by those in power. Conflicts of interest are inevitable, but the government must return to what it was inherently supposed to be — a group of representatives reflecting the interests and wishes of the people instead of pursuing unmatched power for the sake of a stable paycheck. 

Whether our political representatives have 30 years or minutes of experience, we must reconsider their participation in lawmaking at any level. Ironically, while Feinstein may have accumulated decades more political office experience than most, she has little environmental progress to show beside the California Desert Protection and Recreation Act. We need more voices who make big moves toward environmental protection and remediation without fear of public disapproval. 

The plea to address centuries of political corruption is nothing new, but from an environmental perspective we need a huge change. It’s time to dismantle the current political system — the environment deserves better, and so do constituents. 

Montana Denton is a senior writing about environmental issues, sustainability and society. Her column, “Triple Bottom Line,” runs every other Wednesday.