You couldn’t be a climate-change doubter if you visited the Mendenhall Glacier near Juneau, Alaska, when you could walk directly onto it, and later, when a boat ride was necessary to get to the glacier to walk on its surface.
I am a proponent of protecting the earth because I have seen firsthand the evidence that our planet is heating and that reducing carbon emissions is critical.
Having said that, I believe President Donald Trump’s withdrawing from the Paris climate agreement is valid. According to a frequently cited Forbes article from June 16, 2016, in the previous five years, U.S. carbon emissions fell by 270 million tons, while China’s rose by 1.1 billion tons.
Unless we can get China and other non-conformists to cooperate, the efforts of those concerned about global warming are canceled by those oblivious to the damage. In essence, we end up running backward.
We need a better worldwide commitment than we had with the Paris accord.
Jim Kudlinski
Overland Park
Note from KBJ: Two questions, Jim: (1) Where was the glacier before human beings arrived on the scene? (2) Where would the glacier be if humans weren't here today?
