Smoking with cancer

The United Nations’ IPCC report is clear that the fossil-fueled climate crisis is caused by humans and we must take immediate, unprecedented action to save the ecosystems that our lives depend on.

(Gonzaga biology professor Hugh) Lefcort was quoted as saying that reducing carbon dioxide is political (“Inland Northwest climatologists sound off on United Nations report,” Aug. 10). I disagree. Most people don’t wake up in the morning wishing to emit more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere or to build more oil and gas pipelines. What most people care about is having a safe home and access to food and clean air and water. They want a better life for their children and grandchildren than the ones that they had.

Reducing carbon dioxide only seems political because the fossil fuel industry has invested billions of dollars in deceiving us and co-opting our government. It is well documented that the fossil fuel industry and government have known about the catastrophic effects of burning fossil fuels. Yet, they chose to entrench our dependence on fossil fuels to advance their profits and political interests.

Would we pay for health care that encourages people with lung cancer to keep smoking even while we administer chemotherapy? Investing billions of dollars in resilience to climate change while spending even more subsidizing fossil fuels does just that.

We must transition to clean energy immediately and demand our leaders to do it.

Let’s not make our children ask us: “Why did you keep burning gas when the forests were already burning?”

Claire Richards, Ph.D., R.N.

Spokane