By James Maroney
State Sen., D-14
James Maroney.
Many who watched or read about Australia’s wildfires were shocked and deeply saddened by the news reports. Millions of animals have died, people are left without homes and communities are forced to start over again from the ashes of these wildfires.
It may be easy for some to put their phones down, throw on a coat, head out into the New England winter weather and go on with their day. It may be easy to put off the need for immediate action to prevent extreme weather events or the exacerbation of wildfires.
It may be easy, but it can no longer be the response. The stakes are too high, and time is not on our side.
As state Senator for the 14th District, which includes Milford, Orange, Woodbridge and West Haven, climate change and its effects are incredibly important to me and should matter to you as well. This legislative session, which began Feb. 5, I remain committed to voting for and supporting environmentally conscious policies. I am proud to say I received a perfect score of 100 for my voting record during the 2019 legislative session from the Connecticut League of Conservation Voters.
Communities within the 14th District like West Haven and Milford rely on the coastline. Its beauty attracts people from across the state. The location is advantageous for businesses and homeowners. It is an important part of the district’s character.
However, sea level rise because of climate change is a threat that must be taken seriously.
This legislative session I will be supporting proposed legislation requiring educators to teach climate change and its very real affects to our schoolchildren. As we increasingly see signs of the impending danger climate change has the potential to pose to our communities, it is imperative that we have the knowledge necessary to keep ourselves and our land safe and thriving. Similar legislation was introduced last year, by my colleague state Rep. Christine Palm. An Act Concerning the Teaching of Climate Change in Public Schools was not raised in the state Senate, but I remain confident this important piece of legislation will gain passage in 2020.
Despite the climate change bill failing in 2019, last year was still a success on other environmental fronts. We banned single-use plastic bags and fracking waste, and we authorized the procurement of 2,000 megawatts of offshore wind energy. I am proud of what we accomplished last year. The work of my colleagues, especially Environment Committee Senate Chair Christine Cohen, was masterful, impactful and admirable.
Climate change impacts everyone and all our systems as well. It affects our health. Did you know impacts from climate change on extreme weather and climate-related events affect air quality and the transmission of disease through insects, pests and food?
Climate change affects our economy, as best evidenced by the money in federal funding needed to protect against much more intense storms than we’ve ever witnessed. The funding could have been put to other uses, but now must be used to protect states against the effects of a man-made crisis: climate change. The cost of care, which is already too high, will increase as well.
To add some context to climate change’s role in the wildfires in Australia, the last two years were the two hottest on record on that continent, according to Yale’s Climate Connections. This is not sustainable, it is not safe, it is not an aberration and we can do something about it. To not act would be negligent. To choose to not know would be reckless and irresponsible.