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Teresa Werner: Giving the Commonwealth a seat at table on issue of climate change and fossil fuels


Carbon dioxide is one of the greenhouse gases in our atmosphere.  Greenhouse gases trap heat and without them, Earth would be a frozen planet.  Since the Industrial Age, the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) to produce energy helped transform our economy and our lives. 

Yet we now know that the burning of fossil fuels has a serious unintended consequence:  it releases more carbon dioxide than the natural system can cycle, leading to a warmer climate.

Since 1950, carbon dioxide levels in our atmosphere have been on a constant rise, soaring past the highest levels seen in thousands of years.  Scientists, military leaders, public health officials and economists are in agreement that global warming is affecting our climate and having an impact on our national security, citizens’ health and economy.

The flooding river from the Purple People Bridge in March

Yet fossil fuels are so embedded in our way of life that an orderly transition of removing them from our industrial and transportation sectors could take at least 20 years.  That is why it is vital to start making smart, manageable changes now.

One such group working on solutions to climate change is the bipartisan U.S. House of Representatives Climate Solutions Caucus.  The Climate Solutions Caucus maintains an equal number of Republicans and Democrats to ensure they can find solutions that can work for everyone.  The Caucus recently grew to 86 members with some of the latest additions being two representatives from Kentucky:  Republican Brett Guthrie (KY-02), and Democrat John Yarmuth (KY-03).

Kentucky has unique issues associated with global warming. The US Army Corps of Engineers has predicted increased flooding and droughts for the Ohio River which runs along the entire northern border of Kentucky. 

Along with the cleanup associated with flooding, this can cause issues with healthy water supplies and sustainable agriculture. Yet areas of Kentucky depend on the coal economy; Kentucky is the 5th largest coal producer state and 79% of its electric grid was powered by coal-burning plants in 2017. It is important for Kentuckians to be represented in these discussions. 

Thank you to Rep Guthrie and Yarmuth for acknowledging and working on these complex issues. 
 
Teresa Werner is an operations manager at the telecommunications company i-wireless and a mother of two who lives in Villa Hills.  She is also a volunteer with the non-partisan, non-profit Citizens’ Climate Lobby.

Sources:

NASA Vital Signs of the Planet
 
NASA Carbon Cycle
 
Press release on the 84 members of the Climate Solutions Caucus (two more have joined since this announcement)

U.S. Energy Information Association: Kentucky
 

 


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