Shotguns aren’t the first thing that come to mind when you think of climate change. But this year for the second year in a row, leaders from virtually every young conservative group in the state gathered to celebrate conservative climate leadership at a trap shoot in Utah County.
As chairman of the Young America’s Foundation (YAF) at Brigham Young University, I came with several other club members and conservatives from other groups, some of them having traveled from as far north as Logan. The friendly, solutions-oriented atmosphere stood in stark contrast to liberal climate events, which too often focus on fear and panic. The range at the Provo Gun Club faces outward toward the valley, so the stunning view of Utah Lake and Utah Valley was right in front of us as we shot.
The event was an opportunity for young conservatives to unite in our push for conservative alternatives to progressive climate policies. When Democrats bring climate legislation to the floor in Congress, Republicans need a clear alternative. Yes, it’s important that we say “no” to bad policies from the left like the Green New Deal, gas stove bans, and top-down mandates from the EPA. But we need a plan of our own that pushes back against all these by using small government and market innovation. This is why young conservative leaders support policies like a carbon dividend and foreign polluter fee that would lower foreign pollution and reward American innovation.
It is my hope with our YAF chapter at BYU that students will learn to cherish the rich heritage of freedom we’ve inherited in these beautiful mountain valleys. As children of God and inheritors of an incredible earth, we feel a deep sense of gratitude. That gratitude — along with patriotism — fuels our desire for a clean environment.
Josh Carr, Provo