“Eight months ago we left COP26 with 1.5°C on life support. Since then, its pulse has weakened further. Greenhouse gas concentrations, sea level rise and ocean heat have broken new records. Half of humanity is in the danger zone from floods, droughts, extreme storms and wildfires. No nation is immune. Yet we continue to feed our fossil fuel addiction,” said UN Secretary-General António Guterres.
Here in New Hampshire, we could do our part to end the fossil fuel addiction. We could stop “daily driving” of SUVs and trucks and transition to fuel efficient, low emission vehicles. We could end logging in our New Hampshire forests and stop sending our trees to Canada and the Middle East. Our forests are effective carbon sinks if allowed to thrive. We could invest in offshore wind, provide solar incentives, and provide funding for energy efficiency projects, utilizing monies yielded by the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative (RGGI). We could adopt a carbon fee and rebate to hold the fossil fuel industry accountable for their carbon pollution, as well as providing funds to transition from polluting energies to more sustainable forms. Here in New Hampshire we could do all of these things, and provide an example of leadership to the country that might inspire other states to follow our example. Or we could continue to do nothing and let the future be determined by inaction. The choice is ours.
Chris Balch
Wilton