Trump presidency bodes poorly for planet — but there’s still hope

While we were focused on the election and its aftermath, The Tribune has published several articles regarding the increasingly negative impacts of climate change. The latest article was about 2016 being on track to top 2015 as the hottest year on record (Nov. 15). The science supporting human-caused global warming is unequivocal. As the impacts have become ever more obvious and extreme, the countries of the world have united to reduce the cause, i.e., CO2 emissions.

Unfortunately, President-elect Donald Trump seems determined to undermine and reverse all efforts the U.S. and other countries have taken to reduce global CO2 emissions. Evidence of this is his appointment of Myron Ebell to head his Environmental Protection Agency transition team. To understand how threatening this appointment is to our security and the future of our planet, see Frontline’s “Climate of Doubt.”

Fortunately, significant bipartisan efforts in Congress are currently underway to reach consensus on a proposal to put a price on carbon pollution, which would speed transition to renewable energy production through market forces. Citizens’ Climate Lobby is engaged in this effort. To learn more, please explore our website. Then consider joining with us to “put a price on carbon.” Time is of the essence.

This story was originally published November 24, 2016 at 8:08 PM with the headline "Trump presidency bodes poorly for planet — but there’s still hope."