Climate change demands change

To approve coal export terminals on the West Side and increased numbers of coal trains rolling across our state would be a tragic mistake.

Richard Muller, a leading scientist skeptical of human-caused global warming, changed his mind. Interviewed on TV, he said if China does not stop burning coal, U.S. efforts to deal with global warming will fail. This newspaper recently published a brief article stating China seeks to reduce its dependence upon coal. India, the United States and many other nations should also reduce coal dependence. “Clean coal” is the hoax, not global warming.

It does not make sense to pursue exporting coal from our West Coast. Throughout history, most empires imported natural resources and exported products. We are doing the reverse! How does this enhance long-term national security?

Climate change caused by human driven global warming is fact, not fiction. In the late 1980s, scientists predicted global warming would contribute to super storms that could flood New York City subways. What happened? What good are profits and jobs when the descendants of profit-takers and job holders inherit an uninhabitable earth? We need profit and jobs generated by not poisoning our Earth. We need 21st-century thinking.

Duwane Huffaker

Spokane