Support grows for climate action

The MIT Alumni for Climate Solutions in Maryland published a letter to the editor in The Baltimore Sun last fall (“Maryland MIT alumni: The state can help prevent climate disaster,” Oct. 25) which warned about the risks of inaction on climate change. Since then, the pace of release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere has unfortunately accelerated and extreme weather events have continued to plague the world at an alarming rate.

We have been heartened that many of our state's elected leaders have provided strong statements of support for urgent climate action, including making our state carbonneutral within a generation. Among them are Sens. Ben Cardin and Chris Van Hollen, both of whom are members of the Senate Climate Task Force. Senator Cardin wrote that "failure to act at this moment in history will result in catastrophic impacts to the environment, global food security, and public health.” Senator Van Hollen added that his Healthy Climate and Family Security Act provides "a simple, fair, and practical way to address the dangers of climate change.”

Maryland representatives in the U.S. House also provided statements that underscore their commitment to addressing climate change. Rep. Elijah Cummings was the first to stand with the MIT group and to help "prevent climate change disasters.” Rep. Anthony Brown wrote that we have a "moral obligation to act immediately and aggressively." Rep. John Sarbanes, a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, urged “investing in clean energy solutions.” Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger wrote about fighting for "a new wind farm off the coast of Ocean City,” and Rep. Jamie Raskin, a supporter of the Green New Deal in Congress, wrote that now is the time "for sweeping and sustained policy action to break our lethal carbon addiction and propel renewable energy forward.”

More than a dozen of our state's legislative representatives have also written statements of support to the MIT alumni urging Maryland to adopt policies to become carbon-neutral within a generation. Several of them are sponsoring bills in the current legislative session to address the urgency of climate change. Among these is Sen. Brian Feldman's Clean Energy Jobs Act which proposes to increase Maryland's commitment to renewable energy. Together with the other state senators and delegates, they are in a position to make Maryland a leader in climate change mitigation and help to limit potential damages for everyone.

Shiladitya DasSarma, Ellicott City The writer is a member of the MIT Alumni for Climate Solutions. Md. should allow overdose prevention sites

Thank you Baltimore Sun editorial staff for your full endorsement of lifesaving overdose prevention Sites (“Maryland can stop overdoses by allowing safe consumption sites,” May 20). Since 1999, the opioid overdose fatality rate in Maryland has ranged from 150 percent to 300 percent of the national average. The overdose crisis that has sent our country into panic is nothing new for Maryland residents, and after 20 years of preventable losses we are ready for the state to commit to saving lives.

I saw our city’s struggles with drugs firsthand while serving in the Baltimore Police Department as an officer, a detective and overseeing a plainclothes unit. Throughout my career, I realized that we couldn’t stop addiction by arresting people who use drugs, and that those arrests destroyed our chances to build trust with the people we were sworn to protect. After retiring, I took on the role of community services director for the HARBEL Community Organization. In this position, I assist community leaders in dealing with quality of life issues that affect over 27 neighborhoods within Northeast Baltimore.

We know all too well the pains that ripple through communities when individuals are lost to overdose. If we want to help people access treatment, then we need them to live long enough to do so. Decades of research on overdose prevention sites that exist around the world shows that these sites dramatically reduce overdose and HIV transmission and bring many more people into addiction treatment. I hope House Speaker Michael Busch and Senate President Thomas V. Mike Miller will give these sites a chance. Let’s prove that people who use drugs can survive long enough to reach their full potential.

Mike Hilliard, Baltimore The writer spent 27 years with the Baltimore Police Department and is a speaker for the Law Enforcement Action Partnership, a nonprofit group of police, judges, and prosecutors who support criminal justice solutions that will improve public safety.