Fine: Drastic solutions for climate change needed - Loudoun Times-Mirror

Fine: Drastic solutions for climate change needed | | loudountimes.com

For weeks, we've watched our air quality worsen as wildfires rage across Canada. Now it's a code red, bad enough that you can see and smell the pollution. I know that smell well; I used to live in California, where the fire season is getting more severe every year. In this case, what we're smelling is fine particulate matter, small enough to reach the depths of your lungs and enter your bloodstream. It can cause heart attacks, asthma, and lung cancer. This dangerous air pollution stems from wildfires, which are fueled by climate change, which is due to fossil fuel emissions. This is a health emergency, and it's a climate emergency.

So what do we do? Cut back on flying and driving? Eat less red meat? Sure--but we need larger-scale solutions, too. One of those big picture solutions is transitioning to renewable energy. Congress must modernize permitting processes so clean energy infrastructure can get up and running faster, while still listening to community concerns. Clean energy permitting reform is good for our economy, our climate, and our health, and it's long overdue. Congress: will you pass clean energy permitting reform to help clean up our air?

Julia Fine

Bethesda, Maryland