Gov. Scott should confront, not ignore, climate change

The April 17 editorial urging Gov. Rick Scott to “listen to students on climate change” makes me both proud and sad. I am proud of our children for taking action on this lurking danger and sad that we adults have done little to address this threat.

South Florida has already been impacted by rising temperatures and sea levels. Anyone who has been near our coast during a major rainstorm can’t help but see water rushing out of storm drains and beaches disappearing.

The local economic impact is clear. Damage to our shoreline will keep tourists away, and residents will lose their livelihoods and, quite possibly, their homes.

We can’t overlook the larger effects on our planet. More severe weather, increasing ocean acidity, shifts in plant and animal life due to changes in soil, wildfires — all of this and more are the result of climate warming. And climate warming is unequivocally aided by heat-trapping gas emissions. To deny this science, as has Gov. Scott, is like insisting that the earth is flat.

There is still a chance to lessen these effects by limiting gas emissions. We can’t let this opportunity pass. Send your 150-word letter to letters@ sunsentinel.com. By mail: 333 SW 12th Ave, Deerfield Beach, FL 33442. Include your name, address and phone number. Letters may be edited for length and clarity, and become property of the Sun Sentinel.