Let's be climate leaders

Hundreds of thousands marched in Washington, D.C., Chicago, and around the country on Saturday to draw attention to climate change. Even though more than 97 percent of scientists say the phenomenon is real and that humans are contributing to it, the president and others deny its existence.

Okay, let's say there is no climate change and that humans have nothing to do with the climate. Some questions still remain: What is wrong with developing clean energy products that will provide millions of jobs? Why can't the U.S. lead the world in the development of alternative energy sources?

Could the reason be that big oil is a huge contributor to our representatives in Washington? In 2016 alone, Donald Trump received nearly $900,000, Paul Ryan received $648,000, and our own Peter Roskam received more than $50,000.

Let's move past the discussions about whether climate change is real and what might be causing it. Let's begin to not only catch up to the rest of the world in clean energy but lead our country into the future.

Patt Heise

Grayslake