The Daily Item
March 20, 2024
A recent letter to the editor (More Smoky Summers?) reminded me of last June, stepping outside, thinking a neighbor’s home was burning. Smoke from Canadian forest fires was reaching my backyard. I worried: what about our forests?
It is easy to see cause for concern. Massive numbers of ash trees are dead, and the spotted lanternfly threatens a variety of many thousands more trees. Woolly adelgids, thriving in warmer winters, are attacking hemlocks – trees that shade our 4,000 miles of trout-filled cold streams. Predictions of more late frosts, warmer temperatures, and drought will likely increase the supply of combustible materials. We’ve escaped the massive fires so far, but it seems just a matter of time.
Since the 1980s, each decade has been increasingly warmer. The past nine years have been the warmest on record, and last summer was the hottest ever recorded. (World Meteorological Organization).
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that President Biden initiated includes funding for fighting wildfires, but more broadly, it is the largest investment in building clean energy infrastructure in American history. Eliminating greenhouse gas emissions is essential to reducing the heating of the planet because a warming atmosphere is more volatile and more likely to subject us to extremes in temperature, rainfall, and drought duration.
Climate change is a real problem, acknowledged worldwide, and we must quickly change course. The forthcoming investments in solutions are crucial. Thank President Biden and members of Congress who voted for this incredibly important legislation, and support Democratic candidates who get it!
Helen Nunn
Lewisburg