The “blue tsunami” on Tuesday that will give Democrats control of Congress also helped to push through ballot measures around the country to strengthen environmental protections. Voters approved referendums to ensure supplies of clean water and clean power, to support nature conservation and to armor communities against the threats of climate change-fueled wildfires. And they voted, over and over, to block data centers, too.
In many contests, there was little explicit emphasis on climate change or the environment by the candidates, who focused more on affordability, said Jordan Haedtler, the climate finance policy lead at Climate Cabinet, a nonprofit group focused on state and local environmental issues. But a number of states gave people the chance to protect the environment and make communities more resilient to climate change, he said.
“Voters respond to that,” Haedtler said.
In Colorado, voters were asked to take on the culture-war battle over gas stoves with a proposed amendment to the State Constitution to enshrine the right to cook with natural gas. It fell well short of passing.
The votes are still being counted, but Californians appear likely to reject an overhaul of the state’s environmental review process. It would have sped up development to make housing more affordable, but there were concerns that it also could have weakened ecological safeguards.
Massachusetts approved devoting a share of sales taxes to a new fund to expand land conservation and build parks, especially in underserved areas.
Corpus Christi, Texas, faced the prospect of a water crisis this year, before rain alleviated a severe shortage in the city’s reservoirs. In response, voters overwhelmingly backed a measure to require heavy industrial water users to pay mandatory drought surcharges. The money will go toward increasing and conserving the municipal water supply.
Partly because of wildfire risks, Colorado presented voters with a ballot measure to dedicate revenue from sales taxes on sporting goods to environmental conservation. The referendum remained too close to call as of early Thursday afternoon.
In Florida, voters backed a measure to expand tax exemptions, which could save some residents thousands of dollars a year. Opponents warned that the measure could make it harder for communities to prepare for hurricanes by cutting into local government budgets and that, in the long run, could cost more if damages mount.
“My fear is, it will not result in an affordability win,” Haedtler said.
Ten Ohio communities overwhelmingly approved data center restrictions or bans. So did Edgewater, Fla., and El Dorado, Kan., where a ban on big data centers will extend for a decade.
Harwood, N.D., was a rare exception, with three out of four voters deciding that large data center projects did not need an extra layer of scrutiny.
In total, 38 data center-related ballot measures passed on Tuesday, and only one failed, according to Redbud Consulting, a political data analysis firm. All but a few won by at least 20 points.
Data center opponents quickly capitalized on those wins to push for broader action by Congress next year. Food and Water Watch, an environmental and social justice advocacy group, called for a nationwide data center construction moratorium “so lawmakers and community leaders have the time to determine if — not how — this out-of-control industry can ever be safely regulated.”
As of Jan. 3, that will be up to a strong Democratic majority to consider on Capitol Hill.
Related: How Trump’s energy policies contributed to Tuesday’s rout.
Do animals grieve?
Jane Goodall once watched a chimp stop eating and socializing after the death of his mother. African elephants have been seen returning to the body of a fallen matriarch, periodically prodding her with their trunks. An orca spent at least 17 days swimming with the body of her dead calf.
But whether animals experience grief — a complex, often long-lasting psychological and biological response to loss — remains an open question. So researchers are studying grief in the lab, trying find answers.
“It’s definitely one of those great mysteries,” one cognitive psychologist said. “And a challenge for scientists.” — Emily Anthes
Climate news from around the web
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Oil companies spent more than $2 million on Meta ads in the lead-up to the midterms, Yale Climate Connections reported.
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Teenagers say they’re concerned about climate change. The also don’t know much about it, according KJZZ, a public radio station in Phoenix.
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