‘The sky is falling’: Climate change and energy policy emerge as urgent concerns at Parma town hall

PARMA, Ohio — Last winter, retired teacher Mary Huck was traveling to visit her son in Hiram when she got caught in a snowstorm so extreme she could barely see in front of her.

“I wasn’t even able to pull to the side of the road because I couldn’t see that far. I thought I’d wind up in the cemetery I was driving past. The sky is falling,” Huck said.

At a recent town hall hosted by Cleveland.com, Northeast Ohioans gathered to vent their frustrations and fears with sweeping changes ushered in by President Donald Trump’s second term. For Huck, the impact of climate change on the region, and lawmakers’ lack of urgency in addressing the crisis, were her primary concerns.

“Our government is saying don’t talk about it. Don’t refer to climate change … I feel like Chicken Little shouting ‘the sky is falling in the childhood story, but no one is listening,” she said.

Despite the scientific consensus that the Earth is warming at an unprecedented rate — and that humans are the primary cause — the position from Trump and large swaths of his party has largely been denial. Like his efforts to gut other areas of research and scientific innovation, organizations like the EPA and FEMA are bracing for sweeping layoffs. EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin has also signaled his desire to roll back dozens of environmental regulations, and the agency is bracing for layoffs, instead prioritizing the fossil fuel industry. Trump issued an executive order seeking to block state policies aimed at fighting climate change.

“We are driving a dagger through the heart of climate-change religion and ushering in America’s Golden Age,” EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin said in a March essay in the Wall Street Journal.

Trump’s rollbacks have serious implications for Northeast Ohio. In February, the administration froze a $129 million federal grant won under the Biden administration by Cuyahoga County, Cleveland, and Painesville to fight climate change — though access to the funds was later restored. A $156 million Solar for All grant awarded to a coalition led by the Cleveland nonprofit Growth Opportunity Partners was also frozen.

“There are particular topics that Trump administration regards as things that they want to get rid of,” Washington correspondent Sabrina Eaton said during the town hall. “Like DEI – anything that they regard as potentially diversity, equity, and inclusion, and anything that is Green New Deal. “

“And those are all the things that are aimed at counteracting climate change, which these folks don’t actually think is happening, despite some of the scientific evidence,” Eaton continued.

The White House assault on efforts aimed at fighting climate change come at a time when the effects of the crisis are being felt both nationally and locally – from wildfires in California to the increasingly intense precipitation in Cleveland. At the state level, Republicans have made their own moves that could contribute to the climate crisis: declaring natural gas as “green energy,” stalling renewable energy sources such as solar and opening state parks to fracking for natural gas.

“The summer version of that (winter) storm hit me two days ago near Akron on 1-71, following a warning from the weather service. From the sky, there were buckets of water so solid that I couldn’t see even 20 feet in front of me,” Huck said. “Climate is the most urgent topic.”

Eaton also explained that at the Trump administration is interested in reviving the coal industry, particularly with the increased energy demands coming from the proliferation of data centers.

“The Trump administration really wants to revive coal. … So that is the priority of the administration. I don’t think you’re going to being seeing a lot of money toward energy efficiency projects in the next four years,” Eaton said.

State policy makers’ answer to that looming energy crisis hinges mostly on another fossil fuel: natural gas. A bill Gov. Mike DeWine signed a bill into law this week, among other things, encourages the construction of power plants fueled by natural gas.

“To have a unanimous energy bill, especially one that leans into natural gas, is something that’s commendable,” Ohio Senate President Rob McColley, a Napoleon Republican said after the signing.