Letter to the Editor | Can't afford inaction on climate change - The News-Gazette

Letter to the Editor | Can't afford inaction on climate change | Letters to the Editor | news-gazette.com

Can’t afford inaction on climate

I write regarding the June 22 commentary by Mark Glennon on “Greenflation.”

He describes the concern about climate change as “an obsession with global warming and renewable energy” that leads to unnecessary higher costs for all of us. This statement ignores the fact that climate change is now responsible for huge economic costs for many reasons: its role in worsening weather disasters, floods, fires, health care costs (hospital admissions, mental-health charges).

There is also its role in exacerbating already-challenging social problems, e.g., international migration, competition for scarce resources such as water, and loss of habitable land due to sea-level rise.

Mr. Glennon might have ended his “greenflation” article with a plea for public-policy initiatives that facilitate the transition to a sustainable-energy-source future. These include measures to speed up energy efficiency and conservation, and solutions for the essential materials shortage problem.

Mr. Glennon might have noted that our “obsession with global warming” results from our awareness of climate-change costs and our solid commitment toward a future that is livable. This commitment has many ramifications. Not honoring this commitment to mitigate climate change now has many more! Marked human suffering and escalating economic costs are among these.

The time to act is now. We recognize there are costs to these actions. Inaction will cost far more.

DAVID MAIN

Champaign