PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 18, 2023
Extreme methane release from permafrost, flooding, drought, loss of biodiversity and loss of polar ice tell us that this is the time for emergency sacrifices. Possible sacrifices that we must take within the next five to 10 years: ration gasoline; travel only for emergencies; change to non-growth economies; end government subsidies of corn and soybeans; change from meat-based to plant-based eating; change tax codes to favor small families; plant trees and vegetables where corn and soybeans are now grown to feed cows, pigs and chickens; urge families to live in only one residence; develop mass transportation to reduce car travel, and demand that the leaders of other carbon-consuming countries speak to their populations honestly about the many threats of climate change and what actions are needed to attempt to reverse it. Can we mobilize again, as we did when Pearl Harbor was attacked in 1941? Our future depends on it. ~ Leonard Frenkel, South Portland