Time to act or get out of the way

Thank you for reporting on the “exhaustive scientific report” on climate change. But you dropped the end of the original article, which quoted one of Penn State’s own scientists. Here is Michael Mann’s assessment: “This new report simply confirms what we already knew. Human-caused climate change isn’t just a theory, it’s reality. Whether we’re talking about unprecedented heat waves, increasingly destructive hurricanes, epic drought and inundation of our coastal cities, the impacts of climate change are no longer subtle. They are upon us.”

I am proud of Penn State for supporting cutting edge science and for reducing its own carbon footprint by 30 percent over 2005 levels. We all need to do the same: every household, every business, every school and house of worship; everyone needs a plan to switch to clean, renewable energy.

And we need to demand action from our elected officials. Enough with the billions spent on cleaning up after wildfires and hurricanes! Let’s invest some of that money now to ensure a brighter future for everyone.

This cannot be a partisan issue. Three Republican members of the Pennsylvania delegation (Reps. Ryan Costello, 6th District; Pat Meehan, 7th District; Brian Fitzgerald, 8th District) have joined the Climate Solutions Caucus, and of course U.S. Sen. Bob Casey has been a leader on the issue. We can’t wait for the White House to listen to its own scientists, we need action now. U.S. Rep. Glenn Thompson, U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey and state Sen. Corman: please respond to this report with real solutions, or get out of the way and let others lead.

This story was originally published November 7, 2017 at 11:22 PM with the headline "Time to act or get out of the way."