Dear editor,
As a young person and a citizen, I am extremely concerned by the letters sent by Otto Schulte (Climate change panic is nothing more than scare-mongering, May 9) and Larry Pierce (Climate crisis denier’s letter ‘a breath of fresh air,’ May 23) to the editor denying the existence of climate change. Although everyone is entitled to their own opinion, it is wrong to deny the conclusive findings of the scientific community in favour of one’s own individual viewpoint. Both letters deny the science of climate change while failing to provide evidence to back up their claims. Spreading false information is dangerous to the readers of the Comox Valley Record, future generations who will inherit the planet in an increasingly deteriorated condition, and the depleted natural world.
The science of climate change has been conclusive for decades. It is receiving increased attention due to the decades of inaction by global leaders, resulting in a need for immediate solutions. Youth are marching in the streets across the world because we are scared for the future. We must all step up as a country to meet the goal to stay below the 1.5C threshold outlined in the IPCC Emergency climate report.
When further examined, the claims in the previous letters stating that the effects of climate change are currently invisible is totally false. It is well-established that extreme weather is caused by global warming. A particularly relevant example can be seen here in BC when we all felt the devastating effects of the forest fires during the past two summers. We could not see the sky for over a week, air quality was so bad that kids were kept inside, and 3.2 million acres of land were affected. These natural disasters are only expected to increase, and that is why we all need to band together and push for solutions that will increase the quality of life for everyone. Technology and solutions are available to keep us under the 1.5C threshold that improve our economy and ensure quality of life, we just need to be willing to implement them.
Kevin Franceschini,
Courtenay