I grew up in an era when there were no limits on what people could dump into rivers and lakes. I remember magazine photos of the Cuyahoga River in Cleveland on fire in 1970, flames shooting high up into the air.
It was a time when there also were no limits on the kind or amounts of pollution released into the air. We often saw photos of city skylines blanketed by dark, dirty, low-lying clouds.
Then, in April of 1970, 20 million — yes, 20 million! — Americans took part in the first Earth Day, saying, in effect, “We’ve had enough.”
Soon Congress passed the Clean Air Act, and the EPA was formed.
But we’re still living in an era when there are no limits on the greenhouse gases that are dumped into the atmosphere.
Those gases don’t show up in photos. What we can see, though, are the more obvious results of a warming planet: the devastation from stronger hurricanes, longer droughts, and heavier rainfalls. The phrase “heat dome” has now entered our vocabularies.
It is past time that we set some limits. Past time that we put a price on greenhouse gas pollution. Past time for the fossil fuel industry to pay for the damage done by the coal, oil, and so-called “natural” gas they produce.
Ask your members of Congress to support the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act (H.R.5744). You can reach U.S. Rep. Jim McGovern’s office at (202) 225-6101 and U.S. Rep. Richard Neal’s office at (202) 225-5601.
If you agree carbon pollution should not be free, tell President Joe Biden. CCL makes it easy. Go to citizensclimate.org/white-house. Here’s where you can join for free citizensclimatelobby.org/.
Karen Rowe
Pioneer Valley Citizens Climate Lobby