Clock is ticking
October 18, 2018
So many issues clamoring for attention as we prepare to vote for town, county, state and national leaders. For me, it’s come down to the planet’s future, or lack thereof. I’m not going to consider any candidate or party that denies climate change. No candidate that thinks climate change is a future problem rather than one we’re in the middle of right now.
The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report that came out this week as Hurricane Michael barrels down on Florida is just another reminder. It’s not that our children and grandchildren will be in real trouble 10 years or so from now, they already are and so are we. Don’t kid yourself, we’re not going to escape the consequences no matter where we live. And it’s not going to be easy to change our ways fast enough to save our bacon.
Who we elect has huge consequences on whether we will even try. The Nobel Prize winner in economics this year points out that the cost of getting off fossil fuels ASAP would be cheaper than paying over and over for recovery from more frequent and more severe disasters.
Who is (or is not) willing to acknowledge the crisis facing us and is willing to work to avert it?
Even if it means slowing economic growth? Taking a stand against fossil fuel exploration, leases on federal and state lands, and fossil fuel infrastructure expansion? That’s the litmus test for my vote this time around, despite their stands on other issues I care deeply about.
But hey, if we push the planet so out of whack it can’t sustain us, time’s up. And this latest report pulls no punches.The clock is ticking.
--Karen Swoope, Colfax
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