Millennials can’t afford not to vote

Some of my daughter’s friends say they aren’t going to vote “because it doesn’t matter anyway.” It does matter, and it matters especially for them. The editorial “About that clean coal business ...” printed in The Tribune on Oct. 13, referred to a recent report stating that unchecked climate change “will cost the millennial generation $8.8 trillion. That makes global warming the single greatest economic threat facing young people today.”

Millennials can’t afford to be complacent, and when it comes to our warming planet and the devastating effects this is having on our weather, health and economy, we can’t return to the good old days. The report, by NextGen Climate, goes on to state, “Unless our elected leaders take aggressive and immediate action the millennial generation will have to live with the devastating economic, health and environmental impacts of climate change.”

Voting is not only a privilege, it is the responsibility of each citizen. It is imperative for all of us, including young adults, to use our vote to elect leaders at the national, state and local level who take climate change seriously and will work on solutions.

This story was originally published October 26, 2016 at 7:56 PM with the headline "Millennials can’t afford not to vote."