All we need is will to help climate

It’s been quite a summer: near-record heat waves beginning in June, smoke-filled skies from the Canadian wildfires, flash flooding brought on by extreme rain events. And yet the Trump administration seems to believe that if we bury the truth about climate change, we’ll forget about it, and everything will be fine.

That must be why Trump’s budget proposal calls for decommissioning satellite missions that gather information on planet-warming pollution and other climate vital signs. NASA would have to abandon the multi-billion-dollar satellites and allow them to burn up upon reentry.

So much for government efficiency.

All that matters to Trump is that he pays back the fossil fuel industry for helping elect him. Meanwhile, what’s a concerned citizen to do? I have three suggestions.

1. Call your congressional representatives and insist they vote against budget cuts to the Orbiting Carbon Observatories.

2. Get the cheapest cleanest electricity you can: solar. If you can’t put solar panels on your roof, investigate the many options for community solar providers in Illinois. The Citizens Utility Board has a helpful website.

3. Join in celebrating the inevitable transition to solar power at the Sun Day solar celebration at Montrose beach at noon on September 21st. You’ll hear from people with firsthand experience in making the transition to solar and meet the companies making it happen.

We have the technology; all we need is to build the political will to scale-up and accelerate the clean energy revolution. No “head in sand” administration can stop that.

Janet McDonnell

Arlington Heights