To the Editor:

Congressman Ron Kind has recently joined the Climate Solutions Caucus in the House of Representatives with Republican Peter Roskam (IL-06). When he did so, he said “I believe that the next generation deserves the opportunity to enjoy healthy land, water and air, and the Climate Solutions Caucus is working toward that goal in a unique way.”

He also noted that “an equal number of Democrats and Republicans” comprise the 78-member caucus, “all working side-by-side to protect our local ecosystems for years to come.”

We need that protection now more than ever. Here in Wisconsin, we just experienced the second warmest May on record. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has announced that this past May was the hottest on record, 5.2 degrees above the 20th century average for May in the lower 48 states.

This past Saturday, Pope Francis warned oil executives and others that climate change could put human civilization itself at risk. Our burning of fossil fuels—oil, coal, and gas—is the main contributor to climate change, and, as Pope Francis said, “energy use must not destroy civilization.”

Scientists have clearly said that the best way to reduce climate change is to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide we put into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels. Economists, conservative and liberal alike, agree that the best way to get people to stop doing something is to make it expensive to do it.  As I write this, 1,000 members of Citizens’ Climate Lobby, over 50 of them from Wisconsin, are in Washington, D.C., preparing to meet with members of Congress to urge them to take action by making fossil fuel companies pay for the carbon dioxide that their fuels emit when they’re burned.

Write to Congressman Kind to thank him for his courageous stand on climate change. Also let him, Senator Tammy Baldwin, and Senator Ron Johnson know that they need to take immediate action on climate change in order to protect Wisconsin’s economy, Wisconsin’s environment, human civilization itself.

Dan Dieterich
Stevens Point