Laura Magzis lives in Penacook.

I have been concerned about climate change since the late 1980s when I first read about it in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. This was a year or two before I moved to New Hampshire, where I hoped to resume the winter sports I treasured when I lived in the north.

On moving, I was able to more often indulge in cross-country skiing, which was a great benefit. But I was concerned, not only about my own fun but also about what our country’s continued reliance on fossil fuels would mean for our beautiful planet.

There were many signs in New Hampshire that the climate was already changing. Winters were milder and shorter than they had been. The presence of insects that used to find our climate inhospitable became common so we saw new illnesses both in people and in wildlife.

In response to my concern about the climate, I minimized my carbon footprint, buying hybrid cars, weatherproofing my house, and changing my diet. I knew, however, that the threat could not be significantly reduced by individual action of the kind I was taking. We need systemic change, change that would switch us to clean and renewable energy, that would make all of us healthier, and that would make life in society more just and equitable.

Therefore, I contacted my senators and representatives, wrote letters to the editor, participated in demonstrations, and attended campaign events where I could query candidates about their plans for reducing fossil fuel use. In recent years, seeing the changes in my state’s climate and the intensifying disasters elsewhere, my concern has only deepened.

It’s not surprising, then, that I was pleased and relieved to hear the Biden Administration pledge to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030 and to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2050. Another encouraging sign was the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), which aimed, among other things, to use incentives to reduce our country’s fossil fuel usage.

Recently, however, I have been disappointed to find that President Biden is considering approval of a project on federal land in Alaska, west of the Alaska National Wildlife Refuge. The Willow Project, as ConocoPhillips calls it, would emit 287 million metric tons of carbon during its lifetime, the equivalent of 76 U.S. coal plants burning for one year. 76 coal plants constitute about one-third of such plants in the U.S. This is probably a bare minimum because ConocoPhillips has plans to enlarge its project further in the coming years.

President Biden and Interior Secretary Deb Haaland may decide as soon as early March whether Arctic drilling may proceed on this public land. If, like me, you are concerned about climate disruption, please contact President Biden as soon as possible (president@whitehouse.gov or comments@whitehouse.gov).

He may need the support of a caring public to do the right thing. 

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