Ignoring climate change is dangerous | Letter to the editor

Published 9:30 am Saturday, May 27, 2017

To the editor:

On May 9 Bainbridge City Council by an unanimous vote created a new Climate Change Advisory Committee. This committee will focus on climate change and the ways our community can lessen our contribution to greenhouse gas emissions.

Unfortunately, no mention was made in local news outlets of the formation of this committee or the several months’ long thoughtful and productive discussion that went into its creation. No mention was made by the press earlier about the strong stand our newly revised Comprehensive Plan took to safeguard our local environment. And when last year a well-researched report commissioned by the city which graphically spelled out the very real threat climate change poses to our homes, our livelihoods and our safety on Bainbridge was released, I don’t recall reading about it in the local media.

We seem to have our collective head in the sand. Climate change may not be a fun or “convenient” topic, but ignoring it is both extremely dangerous and tragic especially since addressing the problem now could prevent some of the worst consequences.

With an administration in Washington, D.C. which is openly anti-science and anti-climate, action on the local, state and regional level is now seen by many as our best hope and it seems to be working. Innovative programs are being created that not only address emissions effectively, but tend to spread to other communities.

Those who care about the future of our island and our children owe a debt of gratitude to our city council for taking action on climate change. Hopefully the work of this committee and the support of city government will act as an impetus for real community engagement in creating pragmatic programs in which we all can take pride.

ERIKA SHRINER

Climate Action Bainbridge