Letter: Climate change isn't a fantasy. It's already here - Yakima Herald-Republic

Letter: Climate change isn't a fantasy. It's already here | Opinion | yakimaherald.com

To the editor — Republicans don’t believe in man-made climate change (because “beliefs” outweigh “facts”).

Maybe global warming is too hard to grasp.

Break it down:

- Are we seeing more droughts and record highs? Yes.
- Are we seeing larger, more destructive wildfires? Yes.
- Are we breathing more wildfire smoke than ever before? Yes.
- Are the Midwest and New England having more severe floods? Yes.
- Do Texas and Florida have more severe coastal flooding (sea level rise)? Yes.
- Are there more destructive storms with tornados in the Midwest? Yes.
- Are there more destructive hurricanes and storm surge on the Atlantic and Gulf coasts? Yes.
- Are there more and more heat domes? Yes.

While Republicans deny man-made global warming even exists, we’re already dealing with effects. Farmers with dead, dry stalks.

Republicans won’t admit they willingly believed lies despite evidence, because they won’t admit their Republican politicians personally gathered oil donations and made warming worse, while fossil fuel companies are still pulling in record profits. While Republican ranchers and farmers suffer.

“There has always been climate change.” Yes, over tens of thousands of years, not over 50 years. Plants, animals and humans cannot respond so quickly to offset destruction. Those are the facts, not fantasies.

MICHAEL MARTIN

Selah