Sharp letter: Idaho legislators

I want to congratulate the voters of Idaho who consistently elect legislators and other officials who know more than the trained meteorologists, fish and game biologists, climatologists and environmentalists from around the world. They do not believe that higher temperatures causing increased evaporation of limited water in such areas as the western United States has already caused the increase of forest fires and acreage burned. The spread of numerous species of plants and animals into formerly unsafe habitats is of increasing concern to wildlife biologists around the world and is of special interest to farmers whose traditional crops may not grow in the changing environment. But of course Idahoans who make their living from the land do not need to worry. An increase in noxious weeds can be controlled by chemicals. But what if more chemical fertilizers cannot make the crops grow because the climate is too warm and there is not enough water?

All of these changes occur slowly so are scarcely noticed if a person is not tuned into the environment. In my lifetime I have observed the decrease in snowfall, the drying up of small bodies of water and rivers without enough water to keep them flowing.

This story was originally published January 17, 2016 at 11:41 PM with the headline "Sharp letter: Idaho legislators."