Vote and act on climate change policies - The Boston Globe

Vote and act on climate change policies

It’s on the presidential ballot — and the campaign trail

Re “ A withering heat wave frames climate as a key presidential campaign issue” (Opinion, June 21), not only should CNN focus on climate change in the upcoming presidential debate, but voters should prioritize the issue. Trump has called it a hoax, but nature will not bend to his will.

Flying in the face of reality, Trump has asked fossil fuel industry executives to donate $1 billion to his campaign, apparently in exchange for killing unfavorable regulations that limit industry profits. He’s been clear that it’s full steam ahead for drilling and for eliminating existing mitigation policies.

ExxonMobil, Chevron, Shell, and BP’s 2023 combined profits — exceeding $100 billion— no doubt pleased executives and shareholders, but not populations that are suffering from extreme climate-related disasters. Financial wealth and profit should be subservient to a healthy planet. Remember the story of King Midas? What good are heaps of gold if we have destroyed our life support system?

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Marjorie Lee

Wayland

A twofer: Cover rooftops with solar panels while preserving open space

The June 21 front-page article “ Sun brings the heat — and helps keep us cool,” reminds us of the benefits of solar panels. So why are acres of flat rooftops not covered with them? These roofs are otherwise heat collectors, and putting them to beneficial use minimizes the need for huge solar farms on valuable open space and farmland.

Margaret Wheeler

Peabody