Earth Street

Earth Street, an exploration brought to you by Environmental Defense Fund, celebrates and spotlights the relationships between the Earth and all of us who call it home – one city and person at a time. Our correspondents head out in Austin and Asheville...

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With the 2016 elections just over a year away, what environmental question would you ask candidates for state or federal office if given the chance?

What can the candidate do to make cities more walkable and more bikeable?

— Cassie

[earthstreet]

With the 2016 elections just over a year away, what environmental question would you ask candidates for state or federal office if given the chance?

What exactly are they using to salt the streets? …You’ve got to wonder what kind of chemical they use to melt the snow and the ice.

— Benjamin

[earthstreet]

With the 2016 elections just over a year away, what environmental question would you ask candidates for state or federal office if given the chance?

I’ve enjoyed using fuel-economic cars and riding my bike to get around. Would the candidate create specific funding for further developing efficient fuel sources? It’s an ongoing struggle, and it’s what I’ll focus on after school as a career. — Uriel Salazar Angelini

[earthstreet]

With the 2016 elections just over a year away, what environmental question would you ask candidates for state or federal office if given the chance?

I’d ask about water management policies. I’m from California, and where there are serious drought-related issues. — Allison Sturges

[earthstreet]

With the 2016 elections just over a year away, what environmental question would you ask candidates for state or federal office if given the chance?

What will you do, if you shall be elected, to transition the fossil fuel economy to a clean renewable power economy. In particular, what will you do promote and support the implementation of distributed power, rooftop solar power, across our landscape.

— Donna Hoffman

[earthstreet]

With the 2016 elections just over a year away, what environmental question would you ask candidates for state or federal office if given the chance?

How much does recycling actually impact our world? What is it actually contributing? Is what I’m doing making a difference?

-- Brenna

[earthstreet]

With the 2016 elections just over a year away, what environmental question would you ask candidates for state or federal office if given the chance?

To what extent can the candidate dismantle the negative influences of corporate conglomerates on the environment? For example, ideas for moving away from fossil fuels. Or moving toward buying locally. — Antonio L

[earthstreet]

With the 2016 elections just over a year away, what environmental question would you ask candidates for state or federal office if given the chance?

What are you going to do about cleaning up the rivers? As a landscape painter who is married to a fly fisherman, the rivers are very important to us, not just visually but for our health as well. With all the industry coming along the rivers, how are we going to keep them clean?

— Joy

[earthstreet]

With the 2016 elections just over a year away, what environmental question would you ask candidates for state or federal office if given the chance?

I want to ask the candidate if he/she can describe the environmental consequences of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. How would that candidate mitigate those consequences? — Rosie K

[earthstreet]

With the 2016 elections just over a year away, what environmental question would you ask candidates for state or federal office if given the chance?

Why does the state financial institution have a say in what species become endangered in the state of Texas?

— Monica Ramirez

[earthstreet]

With the 2016 elections just over a year away, what environmental question would you ask candidates for state or federal office if given the chance?

My question is about recycling. How do they sort the recycling? What are they doing to improve recycling? How is that going to impact our environment in future—doing it or not doing it?

-- Natalie P.

[earthstreet]

With the 2016 elections just over a year away, what environmental question would you ask candidates for state or federal office if given the chance?

I’d ask: what’s your plan for helping motivate people to get more involved in taking care of the environment? And to motivate people to learn more about how they can contribute and impact the environment positively? — Greg Pera

[earthstreet]

With the 2016 elections just over a year away, what environmental question would you ask candidates for state or federal office if given the chance?

What would you do to provide better food access to different communities?

— Matt Bruce

[earthstreet]

With the 2016 elections just over a year away, what environmental question would you ask candidates for state or federal office if given the chance?

Why is there still debate about climate change when 99% of scientists agree that human being are causing climate change?

— Mandie

[earthstreet]

With the 2016 elections just over a year away, what environmental question would you ask candidates for state or federal office if given the chance?

Where does the candidate stand on improving water safety – not just locally, but globally? — Anne-Marie G

[earthstreet]

With the 2016 elections just over a year away, what environmental question would you ask candidates for state or federal office if given the chance?

I believe in Texas right now there is a place where the trash and the nuclear waste and the waste that comes out of the slaughterhouses is all going to this one extremely toxic area. I would ask how we are going to fix that?

— Stephanie

[earthstreet]

With the 2016 elections just over a year away, what environmental question would you ask candidates for state or federal office if given the chance? I would ask my state representatives in Texas, would they be in support of a state target for utility solar? —Jeff