Climate Change

The environmental topic at the top of the news today is climate change, or global warming. The scientific and economic issues are complex. It is clear, however, that Earth's glaciers, ice caps and polar sea ice are rapidly melting. With all due respect to the scientists who disagree, I believe the scientists who attribute this to greenhouse gases are correct and that the time for action is now. I will therefore vote for legislation to reduce emissions and work to make existing legislation effective.

Pollution

I cover the energy issue elsewhere. It is worth saying here, though, that fossil fuels emit carbon and are linked to climate change. The destructiveness of coal mining is well recognized, and coal emits both toxic chemicals and radioactivity. The need for control of toxic chemicals is well recognized.

Both nationally and locally, we can have industry that provides jobs without fouling the planet. Industry has already shown that it is possible to reduce or eliminate waste and to cut toxic emissions, but not nearly enough has been done. The cost of environmental prudence is less than critics of a clean environment like to say, and in some cases, businesses actually end up enjoying increased profit as a result of their efforts.

Recycling

We can also recycle municipal waste economically. One of the myths of recycling municipal waste is that the revenues of recycled materials do not cover the costs. That is true only if the need for future disposal sites is left out of the calculations.

Carbon Emissions

Today, we face one of mankind's greatest challenges in the need to reduce carbon emissions drastically and quickly. Achieving the levels of reduction we need is definitely going to cost money. Most likely, the cost will amount to only a small percent of GDP — which is certainly a smaller cost that turning our planet into a desert.