Like the evolution from hunter-gatherers to agriculture, humans are poised for another momentous step, this time from the ground to the sun.

The ground, in this case, is the energy extracted from the earth, including oil, coal, natural gas and wood. These fuels have supported population and economic growth for hundreds of years but with a deadly price tag – atmospheric warming that threatens the balance of nature and society.

Harnessing the sun more efficiently offers a way out of the self-inflicted harm. Solar energy and the natural motion of the winds and tides are inherently cleaner, safer, and more resilient. But this transition faces a wall of resistance. It will either take more calamitous weather damage to change minds or breakthroughs in technology like battery storage that give renewable energy a bigger edge over conventional fuels.

This issue is squarely on the ballot this November. While climate change should be everyone’s concern, the polls indicate otherwise with the exception of young voters, who fear its generational impacts.

President Biden has been mindful of the concerns of millennials and members of Gen Z, leading the largest climate investment in U.S. history for CO2 and methane reduction, renewable energy, electrification, R&D and carbon monitoring.

On the Republican side, the GOP shows little interest in slowing the growth of greenhouse gases, which persist in the atmosphere for hundreds of years, like a sword of Damocles hanging over the planet.

Their standard-bearer, Donald Trump, is a champion of the oil industry and the mantra of “drill, drill, drill.” House Republicans have also belittled the environment by proposing to cut the Environmental Protection Agency’s budget by 40%, enough to cripple the agency. Adding insult to injury, they have suggested slashing the current EPA administrator’s salary to $1.

This fits right in with Trump’s vows of retribution, and the environment is an easy target. Besides the lost opportunities of a Biden second term, Trump will dismember EPA and make lasting decisions, including building new roads through Alaska’s old growth stands in Tsongas National Forest, resurrecting the Keystone pipeline for carbon-laden tar sands, and opening up new oil drilling along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts. American credibility around the world will sink while greenhouse emissions will soar, condemning us to decades of regrettable consequences.

Meanwhile, we’ll see a mad dash by politicians to fund disaster relief efforts and expensive schemes to fortify roads and property against increasingly severe storm activity. These defensive investments will signify that the collective fight is turning into “every man for himself.”

If only the private sector offered a ray of hope. Yet despite overwhelming scientific evidence and the fact that 2023 was the warmest year in recorded history, the fossil fuel industry refuses to change course and diversify. It knows perfectly well what it’s doing, making the recklessness inexcusable. Consequently, it’s only a matter of time before taxpayers and communities demand oil company retribution for the property damages caused by unlimited dumping of carbon into the sky.

Environmental issues weren’t always partisan. Many of our modern environmental laws were signed by Republican president Richard Nixon in the 1970s, with overwhelming majorities in Congress. It’s a reminder of just how much the Republican Party and the bipartisan spirit have changed.

It’s a make-or-break year environmentally. The consequences of business as usual couldn’t be clearer: more mass migration, extinction of animal and plant species, and loss of lives and property due to severe weather. The choice is simple: Will we vote with our heads turned towards the sun? Or will we keep them buried in the ground?