The ‘big, beautiful’ bill is bad for our climate [letter]

This “big, beautiful” federal budget bill is not beautiful if you read it!

We are two grandmothers who are willing to speak out against the pending passage of this bill. We hope we are representing many, many other grandparents who feel the same way.

We would like to address a section of the bill that deals with “climate protection.” Global warming is real! Weather disasters — such as intense heat waves, drought, wildfires, extreme rainfalls, hurricanes and melting glaciers — are becoming ever more common. Sea levels are rising due to added water from melting ice and the expansion of seawater as it warms.

Sadly, our country is a major contributor to this issue, yet the poor people in the poorest countries face most of the suffering.

Various recent polls show that between 60% and 74% of Americans favor laws to protect our environment. But the budget bill contains huge rollbacks of the current tax incentives for clean energy via wind, solar and electric cars. The bill gives consent to sell millions of acres of public lands to private companies, potentially to mine more fossil fuels.

Companies working to improve air quality through the use of solar and wind power and electric vehicles would no longer be granted most tax credits.

The current administration wants us to live in chaos and give up hope while being bombarded with additional negativity each day. But we are tough grandmothers willing to fight for our country, the welfare of our people and our environment.

Peg Neal and Erika Miller

Millersville