To the Utah Congressional Delegation:
In June we spent a week in New Mexico. The streambeds were dry, and the national forests were closed to camping, hiking, even picnicking because of extreme drought conditions.
In July we drove home to Salt Lake City from Missoula, Mont. There was a large grass fire in eastern Idaho that filled the air with smoke all the way into Utah.
In August we drove to Wyoming, past the blackened hills of the Tollgate fire, past reservoirs drawn down below normal. The Tetons were little more than a blue outline against a sky white with smoke.
At home in Salt Lake City, smoke from fires in California and Utah has resulted in air unhealthy to breathe. The Oquirrhs vanish and the details of the Wasatch fade behind thick smoke. The sun turns to a red ball in the late afternoon.
The first time we heard about climate change was in the late 1970s. It was then called global warming, and there was considerable skepticism in the scientific community. Since then, the evidence has mounted and scientists have come to a consensus — the planet is warming, and the cause is human activity, primarily the burning of fossil fuels. Now we can all see with our own eyes that our planet is changing. In the West, that means exacerbated drought conditions and more extreme wildfires. In other parts of the country, it means more powerful storms and flooding.
As members of the U.S. Congress, you have the power — and the responsibility — to address this crisis.
Speak out on behalf of the firefighters and citizens killed by wildfires. Speak out on behalf of the thousands who have lost their homes and/or livelihoods. Speak out on behalf of the millions whose health and quality of life have been compromised by smoke. Say that climate change is happening. Say that climate change is the result of human activity.
What more can you do? Oppose the weakening of federal environmental standards. Oppose the expansion of fossil fuel production. Support the rapidly growing renewable energy industries. Support a carbon tax.
Doing nothing is not an option.
Dave and Johanna Whiteman, Millcreek
