Individual action won’t save us
Re “Protect national parks from climate disasters — before it’s too late,” Opinion, July 25
Iof our national parks and other wildlands being decimated by these fires that are increasing in intensity, frequency and size due to global warming. And of course the threats to human lives and property are increasing as well, leading to massive evacuations.
It is equally shocking to think of how air pollution due to fossil fuel use is killing close to 8 million people every year, according to research by Harvard University scientists. And this number is from prior to the increasing wildfires, so the effects on human health related to air pollution directly or indirectly related to fossil fuel use are certainly greater than prior estimates and will increase.
And, of course, we are also endangering planetary stability and human survival. When will we wake up to this reality and stop making minor changes and really take action? Individuals must do all we can to reduce our carbon footprint or, better yet, become carbon-neutral. We must also demand action from our representatives.
If we don’t, it will be too little, too late.