Dear Editor (Brattleboro Reformer),

Despite the failing United Nations Climate Change “Conference of the Parties” (COP
24) in Poland this week involving 197 nations, I have four simple suggestions what we
can do to take control of our future. But first, an obligatory mention of two reports that
were recently published. (You may skip to the 4th paragraph.)

Volume II of the “Fourth National Climate Assessment” was released by the United
States Global Change Research Program on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration website on so-called “Black Friday.”

Together with the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change “Special
Report on Global Warming,” these reports corroborate that “limiting global warming to
1.5°C would require rapid, far-reaching, and unprecedented changes in all aspects of
society.”

What can you and I do to “limit global warming to 1.5°C”? What does that mean? What
if global warming is natural cycles and not human caused?

Whether you believe that burning coal, oil and natural gas is the cause of the melting
ice caps; storms like Irene, Harvey, Maria, Michael and Sandy; wildfires in the west;
droughts foreshadowing global food shortages; less snow for skiing; whatever … what
if it’s true that Earth is warming enough to make life impossible? What can we do?

Scientists and other smart people going back to the 1800s figured out that CO2
captures heat from the sun like a greenhouse. More recently, Pennsylvania scientist
David Keeling’s research confirmed the direct correlation between CO2 and the
temperature of the atmosphere. (It’s too complicated to explain here.)

Right now, we have lost control of our future because we have too few choices to
empower us to change the situation, but we can make a big difference by reducing the
amount of coal, oil and gas we burn and reducing CO2 in the air and in the oceans.

We can do that with 1) carbon-free fuels and 2) technologies that extract CO2 and
convert it to limestone to build roads and buildings, similar to sand, gravel and
concrete.

Go to congress.gov, click “Contact Your Member” and tell Peter Welch, Patrick Leahy
and Bernie Sanders to promote 1) equitable policies that quickly shift demand from
liquid fuels to carbon-free energy, 2) yearly declining oil production in America, 3) yearly
declining production by American companies operating outside our borders, and 4)
CO2 drawdown projects.

We must lead the world in taking control of our future.

Doug Grandt