Letter To The Editor: This Earth Day, You Can Start Building The Political Will For A Livable World

By SARA ANN MASON
Los Alamos

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s recent report makes one thing clear: we have many options at our disposal to make significant reductions in carbon emissions.

So, what’s the holdup? As Dana Nuccitelli observed writing for Yale Climate Connections, the missing ingredient is political will. (1)

And that’s where you come in. Building political will is not an abstract concept, and it’s not something best left to a more powerful and influential person. It’s something you can start doing today through one simple action: reach out to your members of Congress and ask them to support legislation to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels.

From tax credits to an economy-wide price on carbon, there’s no shortage of ways Congress can enact the policy-level changes we need to fight the climate crisis. It’s as simple as telling them that our national security, economic stability, and physical health depend on a transition away from fossil fuels. 

Then, ask others in your family, friend group, and community to do the same. Odds are, many other people you know are concerned, too. The most recent survey from the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication shows that 58 percent of Americans are now either concerned or alarmed about climate change, roughly three times as many as those who are skeptical. (2)

To go even further, consider joining Citizens’ Climate Lobby, a nonpartisan organization that empowers everyday citizens to exercise their personal and political power to advance national policies that address the climate movement.

To learn more, visit https://cclusa.org/join.

Sources:

  1.  https://yaleclimateconnections.org/2022/04/new-ipcc-report-only-political-will-stands-in-way-of-meeting-the-paris-targets/
  2.  https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/publications/global-warmings-six-americas-september-2021/
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