The Citizens’ Climate Lobby is a national grassroots organization with hundreds of chapters across the country, including one in the Wasatch Back.
Local chapter co-leader Tracy Harden said the nonpartisan organization works with lawmakers on legislation aimed at addressing climate change and protecting the environment.
The forum is Tuesday at the Park City Library’s Santy Auditorium from 6-8 p.m. It includes the candidates for Utah House District 59: Republican Luke Searle and Democrat Celeste Johnson.
The district includes Wasatch County and part of Park City.
For House District 4, which represents the rest of Summit County, incumbent Republican Tiara Auxier and Democrat Zane Woolstenhulme will participate.
Harden said the group also invited Republican incumbent Sen. Ron Winterton who is running for Senate District 20, but he has not responded to the invitation. His opponent, Forward Party candidate Annette McRae, will participate.
KPCW’s “This Green Earth” co-host Seth Arens will moderate the forum.
“We have questions directed specifically to some of the candidates based on their past performances as mayors or city councilors,” Harden said on KPCW’s “Local News Hour,” Oct. 5. “[We’re] also trying to probe how you go from protecting local control to now going to the state level with government, and so we have questions that will be asked. One question will be asked of the Republican and the Democrat candidate in each of the districts so they can each respond, and then we'll move on to a new question, just to keep it a little bit more interesting.”
Audience members will have an opportunity to ask questions during the final half-hour. Harden said it is a live, in-person event, so questions will not be taken online.
Harden said the Citizens’ Climate Lobby is focused on several issues in Utah as the state legislative session approaches.
“Our major issues facing us right now are water, drought, scarcity there, and it that parlays into the Great Salt Lake and the health of the Great Salt Lake is, as we know, we've got toxic dust coming off the Great Salt Lake,” Harden said. “It impacts our economy, our ski resorts and the amount of snow that is falling. We've got issues with the migratory bird population and collapse of ecosystems are threatened if we don't have enough water in the lake. And then we also have issues with our real estate values. We're already starting to see people saying, ‘I'm not sure I want to invest in Utah based on the threat of the Great Salt Lake,’ and then in addition to that, we have our wild wildfires, which we're putting money towards putting fires out.”
The Citizens’ Climate Lobby is also working to reform the federal permitting process to speed up approvals to help bring more electricity online as the country transitions away from fossil fuels.
Harden said the group hopes to see the bipartisan legislation pass this year, before a new Congress takes control in January.
Membership in the Citizens’ Climate Lobby is free.
Click here for more information on Tuesday’s forum or to join the Citizens’ Climate Lobby.
