Roberts letter: Climate change

Thank you for publishing the article about the 13 federal agencies’ draft report on climate change (Aug. 8). The draft report concludes that temperatures have risen rapidly in recent decades, that we’re feeling the effects of climate change right now, and that we are causing it. Here in the Boise area, we just experienced the second hottest month on record (July 2017). The hotter temperatures are making large wildfires more common and more destructive. Even after a wet winter and spring, our air quality has been poor because of the smoke from wildfires. The overwhelming majority of climate scientists are certain that climate change is caused by our greenhouse gas emissions. The federal government needs to take the lead on getting Americans to reduce emissions by using clean energy sources. Congress needs to pass legislation that would make that happen as soon as possible. Katharine Hayhoe, a climate scientist and evangelical Christian from Texas Tech, summarizes the report this way: “It’s real, it’s us, it’s serious, and the window of time to prevent dangerous impacts is closing fast.”

This story was originally published August 23, 2017 at 11:02 PM with the headline "Roberts letter: Climate change."