To the Journal editor:

In the Sept.16-17 issue, The Mining Journal printed a (Letter to the Editor) entitled “Solar by example an excellent idea for Marquette Township,” praising Marquette Township for building a solar array to power their community center with that clean, renewable energy source.

The letter further pointed out some of the advantages of shifting from burning dirty fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural gas to the use of the renewable energy sources, which do not release the dangerous greenhouse gases that the great majority of the most qualified scientists in my field of atmospheric science blame for a dangerous climate change that is causing a global warming and more extreme weather events.

In fact, scientists at NASA report that in terms of global average temperature, the three months of June through August were the warmest on record since global record keeping began in 1880.

NASA Administrator Bill Nelson added: “Summer 2023’s record-setting temperatures aren’t just a set of numbers-they result in dire real-world consequences. From sweltering temperatures in Arizona and across the country, to wildfires across Canada and extreme flooding in Europe and Asia, extreme weather is threatening lives and livelihoods around the world. The impacts of climate change are a threat to our planet and future generations.”

Administrator Nelson’s comments are in line with a September 2022 World Meteorological Organization report stating that human-caused global warming/climate change has caused weather-related disasters to increase fivefold over the last 50 years, resulting in an average of 115 fatalities and $200 million damage every day around the world.

The WMO warned that unless humans reduce the burning of the dirty fossil fuels as well as the deforestation responsible for this climate change, these disastrous impacts will only get worse.

Of course, another advantage of moving away from fossil fuels is that the reduction in demand for oil will punish the economies of dangerous countries like Russia and Iran.

I urge your readers to go to the Citizens’ Climate Lobby website at https://citizensclimatelobby.org/get-loud-take-action and follow the write Congress link there to urge our Congressional representatives to support carbon pricing to encourage a transition to clean, renewable energy sources.

Readers can also contact our congressional representatives by visiting their websites or calling 202-224-6221 for Sen. Peters, 202-224-4822 for Sen. Stabenow and 202-225-4735 for Rep. Bergman.

You can also visit citizensclimatelobby.org to sign up for future online actions.