MAINE SUNDAY TELEGRAM • July 31, 2022
The United States holds the greatest responsibility for climate change as it has produced more carbon emissions than any other country in history. As a wealthy country with global influence, it is also better positioned than any other to act. If we’re looking for anyone to lead this effort to save the world, it should be us. The future we feared has arrived. Given the scale of the climate crisis, the impotence of the global response is hard to overstate. We’re no longer just willfully mortgaging the future. We’re actively trading the habitability of our planet today for continued access to cheaper, dirty energy. We know what to do: reduce emissions and get off fossil fuels. It will never be a convenient time to fight climate change. Wars, pandemics and politics will only get harder as our world keeps heating up. ~ Elizabeth Shackelford, Chicago Council on Global Affairs