LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — As tempers flared on stage during Wednesday’s Democratic Presidential Debate in Las Vegas, valley activists held a watch party to grade each candidate’s plans to combat climate change.
“I want to make sure that my kids will have a planet to live on,” Las Vegas voter Scott Egnor told 8 News Now of his concerns for the planet’s future.
Chispa NV joined The Nevada Conservation League to to hold the “Change the Climate Debate Watch Party” at Layla’s Palace Banquet Hall near Tropicana Avenue and Pecos Road.
The approximately 100 guests that attended said they gathered to grade each candidate on his or her potential reform of environmental policies. Many told 8 News Now they wanted to hear about issues that specifically pertain to Nevada as a state.
“It’s scary, the ozone layer,” Nevada voter Kandi Betts explained her fear to 8 News Now. “The sun, things like that.”
Many studies list Las Vegas as one of the country’s fastest warming cities and recent polls show people are concerned. Some show that at least 75 percent of Nevada’s voters list climate change as a serious problem.
“It’s crucial, it’s one of the top priorities Nevada voters are interested in,” Chispa NV Program Director Rudy Zamora said. “We have to protect where we live and make sure we have clean air to breathe, so that we can worry about all the other issues.”
Zamora hopes events like Wednesday’s gathering will keep the issue top of mind through caucus day and the entire 2020 election season.
He and other watch party attendees encourage Nevadans to use their voices to continue what they call a necessary reform to our planet’s care.
“We’ve got to do something,” Betts said. “We cant just be selfish.”
“Events like this are really a good step in the right direction,” Egnor concluded.
Moderators dedicated an entire portion of Wednesday’s Democratic debate to climate change discussions, asking presidential candidates how they would apply their policies to cities in our state.
