Health, climate change and a price on carbon
The first 110 days of Trump’s presidency saw aggressive moves on the Affordable Care Act — to the point that the House passed a bill that will result in millions of people without insurance — and to refute scientifically proven climate change. Impacting much of our nation’s health is the deleterious effect of global warming and climate change. Addressing this issue, denied by the White House, is as critical as national health care in the long-term.
Recent town hall meetings with Senators Murphy and Blumenthal and efforts by Citizens’ Climate Lobby and Rise Up Mystic demonstrate the need for science-based climate policy in our communities, especially putting a price on carbon to move towards a sustainable energy economy. Carbon dioxide when exhaled by animals (including us) is not a pollutant, but the release of sequestered carbon by burning fossil fuels does make CO2 a pollutant because the Earth’s carbon cycle cannot manage that increase in CO2 without huge impact on us. We must adopt scientifically guided legislation that put a price on carbon to improve our environment, and hence our health.
Roger Kuhns
Citizens’ Climate Lobby Connecticut coordinator
Mystic