[Laura Sommet]

Bob, I’m sorry you see and have now politicized a non-profit science organization formed by scholars, students, faculty and science professionals as “left-wing” and “liberal.” If it weren’t for scientists, we would still be using DDT.  Knowledge is power. 

Actually, some electric utility companies are offering customers the option to sell their energy obtained from solar back into the grid. It’s inevitable that our future consists of renewable energy and even the utility companies are joining the effort and seeing the economic benefit of solar, wind, etc.  And it’s happening faster than these fruitless discussions about a silly monolithic wall.  

[Laura Sommet]

Regarding the new consideration to add solar panels to the (racist and waste of money and resources border wall) – 

http://blog.ucsusa.org/john-rogers/trump-wall-solar-panels?_ga=2.162998460.1842880566.1497276218-1117700974.1497276218

[Laura Sommet]

And why is it Mr. Wainner, that people assume those who talk about scientific facts are liberals?  I don’t identify myself as a liberal. Why does science and math have to be politicized?  Probably because fossil fuels are so embedded into our way of life (I have to drive my car to work everyday) and disrupting that way of life is hard for people to accept because that would mean big changes to our lifestyles. 

I wish that science and climate change didn’t have to be political.  I wish it wasn’t real.  I wish I could deny it, but now I have a 6 month old daughter who may look to me and her dad one day and ask why our generation didn’t do something about it when we could.  And I can’t rest in peace with that guilt. 

Politics should not be involved in science.  Is that how you choose your doctor?  97% of scientists who study climate change, say that yes, it’s happening, and yes, it’s largely caused by human activity currently. If 97% of oncologists say you need to have surgery to remove a tumor, and 3% say that nothing is wrong…who would you trust? 

Nobody disagrees that the Earth’s climate has been changing for millions of years BUT, humans, us, you, me, have been causing the global warming we’re experiencing now due to carbon dioxide pollution and the greenhouse effect since the Industrial Revolution. Yes, solar variation, volcanoes, and clouds also affect the climate but humans release at least 100 times more carbon dioxide than volcanoes.  Since 1950, hot days have become more common and cold days have become less common around the world.

Despite the polar vortex storm that hit the eastern U.S. in 2014, it was the hottest year (globally) recorded. 14 of the 15 hottest years recorded globally have occurred since 2000.

The Earth’s temp. has risen 1.5 degrees Fahrenheit since 1880.  That may not sound like a lot but we’re already seeing the effects in terms of melting polar ice, sea level rise (look at Louisiana and Miami), loss of animal populations and more frequent extreme weather.

Even if we stop emitting carbon pollution today, we’d still continue to experience warming for a considerable amount of time because that pollution stays in the atmosphere for hundreds of years. It’s difficult to stop it right away but if we do something now, there’s a chance that we can limit warming to 2 degrees. If we do nothing, and continue business as usual, it could reach 6 degrees by next century.  Unless there’s another earth-like planet we can inhabit, that’s not the sort of legacy I’d like to leave to our grandchildren and future generations.

Why can’t the US lead the world as the #1 renewable energy producer independently?

Why can’t landscape architects lead in utilizing and implementing innovative sustainable tactics that would also contribute to the economy without using fossil fuels?

[Laura Sommet]

I was deeply worried the night of the election and am becoming more worried every day as I continue to see Trump and Scott Pruitt’s efforts to issue deep cuts, silence and abolish the EPA while carrying out the wishes of the Koch Brothers and other oil & gas monoliths.  It is disturbing that EPA head is someone of the oil and gas industry who has been sued multiple times by the very organization he is in charge of…It’s like having an arsonist run your local fire department.  I hope and pray that Trump won’t back out of the Paris Climate Agreement or the UN’s measures to combat climate change but it’s not looking too promising.  I understand that the oil and gas industry holds jobs for a lot of people but so does solar and is already a viable industry that is creating jobs everyday (as well as electric cars).  And the solar and wind industry can provide jobs for an infinite amount of time…the Sun isn’t going anywhere anytime soon….fossil fuels have no future.  

I could keep going on and on about how climate change should be the #1 priority to address because uh, hey, we all live on the same planet but all that to say, if we don’t do something now to combat climate change due to fossil fuels, then we will see more extreme weather, i.e. droughts, which will continue to negatively impact our food, our health, and the landscapes we seek to design and create.

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