Gristmill, the environmental news blog, asked us and several others to imagine we found ourselves in an elevator with the President-elect, giving us one minute of his undivided attention on how he should approach environment, energy, and climate policy. We said, “Mr. President-elect…
Post by Rick Piltz
“Mr. President-elect, I believe global climatic disruption poses two unprecedented challenges. We must dramatically cut emissions, and we have to prepare for potentially disastrous impacts that are already underway and are projected to intensify in the future. Mobilizing the country to take effective action will require great leadership from your administration and a restoration of integrity in dealing with the findings communicated by the science community. Only when the leadership communicates a clear understanding of the potential dangers will Americans support policies that will adequately reduce emissions and the actions needed to prepare for likely impacts. Couple this with putting in place an ongoing nationwide process to further assess the likely consequences of climate change and opportunities to reduce emissions, and incorporate this knowledge into all relevant spheres of activity. This process should engage citizens all across the country.”
See here for thoughtful comments by San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom, Yale University Dean Gus Speth, author Bill McKibben, and several others.