From Fires to Floods, Qasim Rashid has a Plan
by Christopher Carson
Just days before Thanksgiving in 2018, a fire tore through the community of Paradise, CA. The fire leveled the entire city of 27,000 people, annihilating small businesses, turning schools into ash, and ending the lives of 86 residents. The fire destroyed around 15,000 homes, including my grandmother’s. Taking nothing but the clothes she was wearing, my grandmother hitched a ride to safety in her neighbor’s car just minutes before flames reached the walls of her house.
With the current climate crisis worsening year after year, fires like those that impacted my family in California are an increasingly common occurrence on the west coast and worldwide. In Virginia, while smoke from the fires on the west coast lingers in the air, floods continue to cause catastrophic damage to structures and private property across the state. Sea level rise will only exacerbate this issue, threatening coastal communities from Poquoson to Triangle.
Congressional candidate Qasim Rashid (VA-1) has a plan to tackle this challenge. He was endorsed by both the Sunrise Movement and the Sierra Club for his forward-thinking and science-based approach to address the climate crisis. Qasim supports investment in renewable energy, which will allow our state to ease off its reliance on fossil fuels while creating jobs for Virginia residents. At a time when unemployment is at record highs, Qasim supports the Green New Deal, a coordinated effort to boost employment by creating new and sustainable jobs. Qasim’s effort to mitigate the climate crisis also priorities assistance for rural communities, which are disproportionately impacted by environmental disasters.
As floods continue to threatening our communities and fires again rage across the western US, Qasim’s opponent Rob Wittman denies climate change is an issue. In the most recent debate between the two candidates, Wittman refused to admit on three separate occasions that climate problems are induced by human activity. While Qasim is proposing an environmental agenda that will support Virginia businesses and invest in renewable energy, Wittman is prioritizing the interests of the fossil fuel industry over those of Virginia voters.
Until we can elect a Representative who believes in science, who supports sustainable investment, and who presents a progressive vision for the future, fires will continue to scorch homes like my grandmother’s. Floods will continue to ravage Virginia communities. Small businesses and schools will continue to be destroyed by climate disasters. This situation will only worsen for future generations.
Now is the time to take action to avert future disasters. Now is the time to place the interests of Virginia residents before those of the fossil fuel industry. Now is the time to send Qasim Rashid to Congress.
Christopher Carson is a volunteer for the Rashid campaign and lives in Washington, D.C.
