‘I want my child to have a full and wonderful life’

The newly released Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report (https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ ar6/wg2/) says that it’s “now or never” if the world is to stave off climate disaster.

I want my child to have a full and wonderful life. Most likely, we’ll be in survival mode in the near future. Why should extractive corporations gain at the expense of our ability to breathe clean air and drink clean water?

I personally have seen the devastating effects of wildfires in California, where we moved from. People are getting too comfortable with the idea that it is normal to flee their homes each year in the fall, and “fire season” is only expanding in its timeline.

We moved to Columbus last year to be among family, and also to get out of range of the fires and the wildfire smoke. Sadly, it seems that Columbus’ air quality is very poor. I was surprised to see Air Quality Index readings in the 80-100 range last summer and fall, which I understand was due in part to smoke from the fires in western states.

My takeaway at this point is that we are in a rapidly accelerating state of climate disaster, no matter where you live. No one is safe. I feel it viscerally and personally, and it colors my days and weeks with dread and grief. It is a very frightening time to be a parent.

“Net zero emissions” does not mean “zero emissions.” In many cases, it means the exact opposite and is instead used as a polluter-driven greenwashing scheme.

We must put pressure on our government officials to read the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report and pledge your commitment to real zero emissions.

Lucinda Sears, Columbus