Climate change affects us all
I attended U. S. Rep Mike Doyle’s town hall meeting on climate change in Pittsburgh last week ( Aug. 15, “Climate Change Panelists Urge Swift Action”). I’m glad he and his staff are giving attention to this matter, even if it is mostly lip service.
( Surprise: I saw no one from the office of Sen. Bob Casey, D- Pa., or Sen. Toomey, RPa., in attendance.)
Unfortunately, I didn’t get the chance to ask Mr. Doyle why climate change legislation doesn’t fly though Congress as fast as America’s annual defense budget does, and with as much bipartisan support, but I digress.
One of the audience members, a medical student at the University of Pittsburgh studying to be a pediatrician, spoke up about the increasing number of respiratory problems he’s seeing in local children. Boy, that made me sit up and listen closely — because I’ve faced that same issue.
I have been working part time these last few years because of severe respiratory issues, which has meant a loss of thousands of dollars in federal, state and local tax revenue. That’s money that hasn’t flowed into the defense budget or into Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, the VA or public pensions.
It’s easy to dismiss climate change as not affecting you. But it is. Respiratory issues are one factor of many that are only going to get worse with climate change.
My advice would be to ignore any elected official or candidate not addressing this issue, including raising taxes on the wealthy to fix this problem, and focus on electing or retaining those who are. Climate change adaptation and remediation will cost a lot now; it will cost a lot more down the road.
MARY M. HICKS
McKeesport