Where Schiff, Garvey stand on energy, environment: U.S. Senate election voter guide

On Nov. 5, former Dodgers star Steve Garvey is competing against Democratic Rep. Adam B. Schiff for the U.S. Senate seat long held by the late Sen. Dianne Feinstein. As one of 100 senators, whoever wins the seat could have a tremendous impact on the future of the nation, and the planet.

Bold steps versus measured approach

Both Garvey and Schiff say they want to protect the environment and combat climate change. They differ, however, in how fast and how aggressively they believe the country should respond to the warming planet.

Schiff calls climate change “a crisis” and “the biggest existential threat facing our nation and the world.” He supports what the Democrats call the “New Green Deal,” a resolution that calls for meeting 100% of U.S. power needs with renewable energy. It also includes dozens of social initiatives, such as guarantees of clean air and affordable housing and a push to reduce economic inequality.

His Republican opponent calls for a more measured approach. “Protecting our environment is crucial,” Garvey states on his campaign website. “I’m all in for practical climate action that balances our ecological needs with economic growth.”

Unlike Schiff, Garvey says the country will need to continue to burn oil.

“When we talk about clean energy, we talk about nuclear. We talk about wind,” Garvey said in February at a debate among the Senate candidates. “But there’s always a place for gas and oil. This country runs on gas and oil. When it’s all said and done, the people will decide. They’re the ones that will tell us what they can afford and what they need.”

Split on green energy projects

The two also differ on President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act, which is providing hundreds of billions of dollars in tax credits to solar, wind and other green energy projects.

Schiff voted for the 2022 law. “This is an extraordinary victory for our economy, our planet, and our people — and we must keep the momentum going,” Schiff said after the act’s passage.

Garvey says the law is flawed and calls the tax credits “a giveaway to corporations and interest groups that donated” to Biden.

He says the tax credits could end up costing taxpayers more than double the original estimate of $369 billion. Rather than repealing the law, Garvey said he believes it should be reformed “to prevent further excesses.”

The federal act has spurred the building of green energy projects across the country, sometimes on pristine land. Some projects have angered environmentalists and residents as heavy equipment moves in to level hundreds of acres of wildlife habitat.

A solar project now being constructed in the Mojave Desert is expected to destroy 4,000 Joshua trees. “Let’s destroy the environment to save the environment. That seems to be the mentality,” said Deric English, a resident of Boron, the small town that sits next to the project.

Schiff says he believes the government can find ways to greatly expand renewable energy use while protecting wildlife habitats. “Resolving the tension between the two should not, and must not, be beyond our capability,” he said in a statement to The Times.

Garvey says that he believes it should be easier to build energy projects, including those producing oil and gas. He says he believes conservation measures such as the federal Endangered Species Act “are being used by Washington elites to reshape the economy regardless of voters’ wishes or the original intention of our environmental laws.”

“The result,” Garvey said, “has been higher energy prices.”