No tyrants

“Sic semper tyrannis” reads the Virginia motto. Gov. Glenn Youngkin would do well to remember it with his shady scheme to disregard the will of both the General Assembly and two-thirds of Virginians by taking us out of the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.

With only three days of public notice, his new members of the stacked Virginia Air Pollution Control Board could attempt to proclaim an “emergency declaration” and immediately send us backward on public health and climate change.

This disastrous move would make communities across Virginia less safe and less prepared for the next big storm. It’s also bad for business. As a Virginia Beach native, I am reassured to see how millions in funds from RGGI have already been utilized to study and build coastal resilience and flood preparedness projects in places across Hampton Roads that I grew up using and enjoying, such as the Elizabeth River and South Birdneck Road.

Sea level rise and flooding from storms continue to threaten the beaches and bays that make this area healthy, safe and beautiful. We must prepare and adapt to preserve our quality of life, ecosystems, businesses and futures.

Over the next decade, proceeds from RGGI could generate more than $750 million to invest in critical community flood preparedness and energy efficiency upgrades. Join me in telling the governor no to his disastrous attempt to pull Virginia out and reminding him that it is the people through the General Assembly and not a tyrant on high who decides Virginia’s laws.

Robert Barton, Virginia Beach