Climate Change Is on the Ballot—Even If Dems Aren’t Saying Those Words

The Democrats have been accused, fairly, of “climate hushing.” But they’re finding subtle ways to connect environmental issues with voters’ pocketbook concerns.

In Maine, as everywhere else in the country, one of this year’s biggest electoral issues is the cost of energy. The price of electricity is rising at the third-highest rate in the nation, and heating oil—which Maine relies on more than any other state—now costs a record $6. So it’s no surprise that the state’s candidates for governor were asked about this issue in a debate last week. But Democrats should take note of how their nominee responded.

Hannah Pingree, a former speaker of the Maine House of Representatives, rightly attributed these rising costs in part to the global energy crisis caused by President Trump’s war against Iran. “We need to end the war,” she said. “That might bring relief.” She also called on the state and federal government to provide more funds, especially to help low-income families. The usual solutions. But then she went one step further.

“I do believe deeply in weatherization and efficiency programs,” she said. Pingree formerly co-chaired the Maine Climate Council, an advisory group that created the state’s ambitious climate plan, and she noted that she helped create Maine’s quasi-state energy-efficiency agency, which Republican nominee Bobby Charles “wants to get rid of.” She added, “I believe investing in efficiency, continuing to install heat pumps, which help people get off foreign oil ... will long term save us money and make us more energy independent.”

The magic words here, believe it or not, are “heat pumps,” which Mainers have adopted at a rapid clip thanks in part to Pingree’s championing. And notably, in her answer, she did not utter two other words that have bedeviled the Democrats: climate change.

Since Trump’s return to the White House, a debate has roiled the Democratic Party about “climate hushing”—the accusation that politicians are deliberately not talking about climate change. This is a real phenomenon, and it’s driven by the........

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