Changes in our government’s attitude on climate change have strengthened our need to act strongly ourselves.
There are two kinds of important — immediate and distant. We aren’t very good at distant. I would argue that we need to move climate change from the distant to the immediate in our personal lives. Group actions and court challenges are important, but one needs to walk the walk.
Now is also the time to do something about fossil fuel use because of the incentives. Today we have $10,000 off new electric cars, 60 percent off solar installs, 20 percent off heat pumps and many more offered by the state of Massachusetts. We can help ourselves as well as the climate, but it must be more than recycling trash.
The recent warm weather here, the tornado in Conway, the drought in California plus here, the super heat in Australia, the start of mass migrations, what science tells us … all move the Earth’s climate to the do-something-now list.
One scientist now talks about deaths from climate. We have already had a few as trees fall on people and homes blow apart in the winds. The scientist talked of many deaths in the future caused by our inaction over fossil-fuel use.
Our lifestyle today is stealing people’s future. The longer we wait, the more will die.
John Howard
South Hadley