Let's do our part on climate change | Opinion | aspendailynews.com - Aspen Daily News
Let’s do our part on climate change | Opinion | aspendailynews.com
Editor:
What about this fantastic fall weather? But then, if you have been following the news, the world’s average temperature has been the highest in human history.
Actually, it is kind of hard, living in such ideal circumstances, to know that there are serious problems around the world. There is a terrible war in the Holy Land. Another in Ukraine. The increasing heat is drying up rivers, melting glaciers and raising ocean levels that ruins the fresh water at the ocean fronts.
Other people’s problems, right? Well, our winters are getting shorter. Local flora and fauna are getting out of sync. Less moisture is falling. All kind of subtle, so far.
Anyway, what could even be done locally? Most of us have heard of the “carbon footprint.” Many local residents are switching to electric vehicles, installing solar panels and replacing natural gas heating with heat pumps. These folks feel a personal responsibility.
My question is what should our community be doing as a whole? Are there things that could be applied across the town to reduce greenhouse gas emissions?
How about giving your local government and local service organizations a call or visit? Ask what can be done. Let’s all do our part.
Patrick Hunter
Carbondale
Related Knowledge Center: Climate science
What began as a theory in the 1890s — that industrial emissions of carbon dioxide could increase global temperatures — had progressed to a scientific fact a century later. Scientists across a range of disciplines are studying the impact of the still-growing concentration of carbon dioxide and other so-called “greenhouse gases” in the atmosphere as they call for industrial and governmental policies to slow, then halt, the warming of the planet.