Letter: We are morally obliged to face up to climate crisis - Press Herald
Letter: We are morally obliged to face up to climate crisis
We all have a moral responsibility to face the growing crisis of climate change. The difficult and extraordinary decisions required only make that responsibility more essential.
In an October 2023 letter addressing climate change, Pope Francis boldly wrote: “We must move beyond the mentality of appearing to be concerned but not having the courage needed to produce substantial changes …Although the measures that we can take now are costly, the cost will be all the more burdensome the longer we wait.”
Through the Inflation Reduction Act, the federal government has finally begun to commit extensive funding to encourage renewable energy development. Maine has selected Sears Island in Penobscot Bay as its preferred site for the new hub for Maine’s floating offshore wind power industry. While deciding where to locate the facility was difficult, offshore wind is critical to creating sustainable energy without fossil fuels.
Wind power off Maine’s coast is targeted to provide a minimum of 3 gigawatts of power by 2040. One nuclear power plant on average produces 1 gigawatt of power; this one renewable energy project offers clean energy with no nuclear waste to dispose of.
We must all face the climate crisis with the honesty and courage needed to assure our young people can grow, survive and thrive in the only creation God has gifted us with.
Michael Seavey
Biddeford
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Related Knowledge Center: Climate economics
Climate change is now a driver of the world’s economy. The impact is profound:
- Catastrophic weather events — hurricanes, floods, droughts, high temperatures — are more frequent and more extreme. The cost can be measured in both the initial damage caused and the longer-term impact on the economy.
- Vulnerable communities are increasing climate-related investments, hardening infrastructure and taking other protective measures.
- Investment in carbon capture and storage technologies is increasingly rapidly.
- Governments are making investments and crafting regulations to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
On top of all of this is the cost of uncertainty. As the Fourth National Climate Assessment, released in 2018 by the U.S. Global Change Research Program, says, “The assumption that current and future climate conditions will resemble the recent past is no longer valid.”