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To the Journal editor:
I’m a retired National Weather Service meteorologist with two degrees in atmospheric science. The great majority of the most qualified scientists in my field believe human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, much of which come from burning dirty fossil fuels like oil and gas, and other short-sighted irresponsible actions like mass deforestation are responsible for a dangerous climate change and that urgent action is necessary to avoid the worst impacts.
In fact, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration reports the concentration of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide reached an all time high 432 parts per million in May 2026. (NOAA’s Global Monitoring Laboratory shows the current atmospheric concentrations of several greenhouse gases at https://gml.noaa.gov/ccgg/trends/). That’s why I wasn’t surprised to read the United States in July experienced the warmest month on record since at least 1895. Additionally, July tied July 2024 as the warmest month on record in terms of global average temperature. The World Meteorological Organization also reports 2024 was the warmest year and 2015-2025 was the warmest 11-year period in terms of global average temperature since at least the 1880s.
In addition to this global warming, climate change has increased the probability of extreme, costly weather events. The Mining Journal has recently published many articles highlighting weather-related disasters around the world and the U.S., including widespread drought and wildfires as well as heavy rains and catastrophic flooding.
Unfortunately, the Trump Administration has prioritized support for the fossil fuel industry over the well-being of our planet, environment and climate. I urge your readers to contact our congressional representatives by visiting their websites or calling 202-224-6221 for Senator Peters, 202-224-4822 for Senator Slotkin and 202-225-4735 for U.S. Rep. Jack Bergman to urge them to support actions to slow the dangerous climate change that is increasing global warming as well as the likelihood of more weather-related disasters.
Your readers also can visit the Citizens Climate Lobby website (citizensclimatelobby.org) to find specific actions they can take to help achieve these important goals.