October 28, 2016

ANCHORAGE, AK – The Alaska Climate Caucus on October 27, 2016 named Margaret Stock, Independent candidate for the U.S. Senate, a “climate smart candidate” for “breaking the silence” on climate change and stepping up to face the “mounting impacts from climate change on Alaska’s public health and safety, our economy, and our vulnerable communities and ecosystems.” Stock was the only U.S. Senate candidate the Caucus named.

“Alaska is ground zero for climate change which has profoundly affected the state in troubling ways and will continue to do so unless we act quickly and wisely. Alaskans know this, given warming ocean, soil and air temperatures, melting permafrost, shifting vegetation and animal abundances, and altered characteristics of Arctic cyclones. To fail to admit the problem is the worst folly, and to pretend that climate change is insignificant places the nation and Alaska in the path of economic disaster. I look forward to working with the Alaska Climate Caucus to confront and correct climate change,” said Margaret Stock.

Unlike Lisa Murkowski, who has said publicly that she is unsure what causes climate change, Stock knows that climate change is real and man-made. Climate change mitigation will top her agenda when she is in the U.S. Senate. Her position also contrasts with that of the Republican Party leadership: The 2016 Republican platform calls for abolishing the EPA and ending public subsidies for clean energy development. While responsible oil and gas development will remain a cornerstone of Alaska’s economy, Stock also supports broader long term growth by diversifying Alaska’s energy sources, encouraging renewable energy development, and improving energy efficiency.