Can we resolve to make the sacrifices that will save us?
Business columnist Larry Edelman tells us what we should already know (“Climate future is now,” Trendlines, Business, July 22): The crisis in our climate is not some hypothetical problem down the road — it’s here, now, and it threatens our way of life and potentially our very lives. Denial will not make it go away.
However, as Edelman notes, there may be ways to transform our energy systems and eliminate fossil fuels altogether. The frequently proposed net-zero target date of 2050 will probably come too late as the existential threats arrive with unexpected speed. But yes, we may have the means to regain control of our climate, though it won’t come cheap — an additional $3.5 trillion dollars a year, experts estimate.
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Can we put aside the vast luxuries that have become our way of life? Can we tap the enormous reserves of private wealth as well as public funds to build this new, sustainable world? Or will we fight each other for diminishing resources to the last person standing? We can resolve to make the sacrifices that will allow us to rebuild our energy systems and reduce the climate threat. But we have to choose the life-affirming path and not the indulgent one we have collectively pursued to the brink of destruction.
We have that choice, but we don’t have much time to make it.
Brent Whelan
Allston
We can’t remain bystanders to a global crisis
It is alarming to see that June 2023 was the hottest June on record and that billions of people are at risk of living with extreme heat, but this should not come as a surprise. Temperature records have been consistently broken in recent years, yet many people are still ignoring the human contribution to climate change. We can no longer stand by and watch the devastating effects of this global crisis. Climate change does not discriminate and it is therefore essential that we take action now in order to protect ourselves and our planet. We must move away from our apathetic attitude and accept our responsibility to make a positive difference. This summer of extremes should act as a wake-up call that we cannot exist in harmony with nature unless we recognize the need to protect it.
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Laurie Woodward Garcia
Framingham
