On climate: Will our children have to save themselves?

A few days ago I was on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., visiting my members of Congress with a group of 1,200 constituents from across the country — including 50 Floridians. I asked my lawmakers to preserve a for our children and grandchildren. livable planet

Will Congress listen and take action? The children are worried and many of them are old enough to vote.

The young people who lobbied Congress last week realize their future is at stake. Older Americans will not live to experience the worst effects of climate destabilization, so it’s no wonder younger Americans are the most concerned. According to a May 2018 Gallup poll, 70 percent of Americans age 18 to 34 worry about global warming, compared to just 56 percent who are 55 or older. Their worries cross party lines.

A large majority of our kids understand that global warming is caused by human activities, especially the burning of fossil fuels. Most young people say that renewable fuels such as solar and wind are the fuels of their generation, according to a recent survey of energy attitudes. They view oil and gas as the fuels of their parents’ generation, and coal as the fuel of their grandparents.

“We are ready to kick out politicians who put fossil fuel lobbyists above our futures, no matter their political party,” said William Lawrence, a volunteer with Sunrise Movement, a youth-led advocacy group that is building an army of young people to stop climate change and create jobs in the process.

In 2015 youth plaintiffs, now age 10 to 21, sued the federal government for doing too little to stop climate change. “This intergenerational injustice violates the rights of young people and future generations to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness and property, without due process of law,” said Sophie Kivlehan, one of the plaintiffs. On October 29, 2018 the case will go to trial.

Will you take up the fight alongside our children and grandchildren, or will you let them battle alone? In Washington my fellow citizens, young and old from across the political spectrum, urged Congress to put future generations at the heart of government policy.

If we act now to cut carbon in our atmosphere, we’ll save several trillion dollars in economic damages in the coming decades, millions of good according to a new report published in the journal Nature. Right now the prices of fossil fuels simply don’t come close to reflecting their true costs. That puts efficiency and renewables at a competitive disadvantage.

Congress can act to place a revenue-neutral fee on the carbon emissions that are driving global warming. With a financial incentive to reduce emissions, the free market will invest in technologies to build a clean and safe world for our children.

A solution is at hand, and time is short. Let’s tell our elected representatives that our kids want us to choose climate solutions, not climate disaster.

Carrie A. Scherpelz, a marketing and communication professional, lives in Madison, Wis. She is also a volunteer with CitizensClimateLobby.org.