Vice President Kamala Harris talks climate at Georgia Tech

Vice President Kamala Harris visited Atlanta on Wednesday for a conversation about the White House's efforts to address climate-related issues following President Joe Biden's State of the Union address Tuesday night.

Speaking with University of Georgia professor Marshall Shepherd and Georgia Tech professor Isaiah Bolden at Tech's Ferst Center for the Arts, Harris addressed inequity surrounding environmental problems, such as clean drinking water in places like Flint, Mich., and Jackson, Miss.

"The communities that are disproportionately impacted by, for example, poor air quality, it doesn't take much to realize that some of the poorest air quality zones in our nation are the same places where people of color and low income communities live," she said.

Harris also mentioned excitement around electric vehicles, particularly electric school buses and the public health implications of lowering diesel emissions that children are exposed to, as well as the fact American companies are manufacturing them.

Left unsaid was a mention of Fort Valley, Ga.-based Blue Bird, which has been touted for its work on electric school buses in recent years, or any other Georgia-specific work on climate, green energy or alternate mobility sources. Georgia is also home to a growing electric vehicle and battery manufacturing industry, with several multibillion-dollar announcements made in the last year and both Democrats and Republicans claiming credit for the investments.

Shepherd said that the Biden administration's investment in legislation like the Inflation Reduction Act and on combatting issues like hurricanes and flooding is a reflection of the real-world impact a changing climate has.

"This is not about polar bears," he said. "I like polar bears, they're cute. But this is about kitchen table issues issues that affect lives in Oakland, Calif.; Canton, Ga.; Nashville, Tenn."

Biden's speech, which largely focused on calls for unity and to "finish the job" on key policies amidst heckling from Republicans including Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, also touted the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act as "the most significant investment ever in climate change ever."

"Lowering utility bills, creating American jobs, leading the world to a clean energy future," he said of the law. "I’ve visited the devastating aftermath of record floods, droughts, storms and wildfires, from Arizona to New Mexico to all the way up to the Canadian border. More timber has been burned that I’ve observed from helicopters than the entire state of Missouri. And we don’t have global warming?"