We should think win-win, no compromise
Regarding “Into the Red: Climate and the Fight of Our Lives”: Thank you for committing to expanding and rethinking your climate coverage in the face of widespread denial and inaction (“A Sharper Focus on the Issue of Our Time “, Page A1, January 20). Climate activists around the world will welcome this transformation and will be happy to support you every step of the way. In your announcement, however, the statement that tackling the climate challenge “will ask something of us all” reflects a mindset that assumes that tackling climate change will diminish our ways of life. It doesn’t have to be true.
A 2013 study concluded that Massachusetts could grow its economy and jobs by implementing a revenue-neutral charge on greenhouse gas emissions. A 2014 study of a similar national policy found that 60-70% of households at the bottom of the income distribution would break even financially or come out on top. Most of the remaining households would experience only minor financial impacts while, again, the national economy and jobs would grow, emissions would drop, and health outcomes would improve.
As a Globe subscriber and climate advocate, I welcome your commitment to expanding coverage of this issue, but not if you don’t challenge your own assumptions or step out of the comfort zone of conventional wisdom.
Gary Rucinsky
Massachusetts State Coordinator
Citizen lobby for the climate
Newton
Achieving our ambitious goals is not automatic
Prioritizing and publishing newsworthy articles on this crisis is exactly what we need.
It’s true that Massachusetts has set some of the most ambitious climate goals in the country, but putting those goals into practice isn’t automatic or guaranteed. Public awareness and input are crucial. We also need to elect politicians, including our next governor, who are unequivocally committed to addressing climate challenges.
Deception, denial, and procrastination have thwarted progress toward where we are now: in the danger zone. All of our lives are affected, so it is first and foremost a matter of public policy, and we all need each other, not just scientists and politicians. For those who need to better understand climate change, there are plenty of educational opportunities available, not to mention excellent journalism. And we can all start by talking to family, neighbors and friends. What’s more important?
Marjorie Lee
Wayland
Eyes are on the aspirations of the post-fossil energy era
Journalism has been called “the first draft of history”. The Globe’s ‘Into the Red’ team is tasked with covering what is sure to be a volatile period. We are at a time when the energy systems that underpin the global economy are being redesigned to meet the aspirations of a post-fossil energy era. The near future promises debates and conflicts, resistances and confrontations, breakthroughs and failures.
That should make great journalism. I commend the Globe for making coverage of the climate crisis a priority.
Frederick Hewett
Cambridge
That other media follow
The ‘Into the Red’ project, like the Globe’s Spotlight team, promises to become a major exercise in journalistic responsibility. Thoughtful guidelines and a plan for hiring new staff suggest a serious commitment. Focusing on local issues increases the likelihood of having positive effects and spurring citizens to action. Hopefully other newspapers will do it too. This initiative, I hope, will help us all to break the inertia created by a feeling of helplessness.
Monica McAlpine
Brookline
World leaders haven’t shown the backbone to meet this challenge
Thank you very much for your decision to devote more coverage to climate change. This is truly the defining crisis of our time. The world is sliding towards irreversible catastrophe, and world leaders – political and business – have no backbone to deal with it. The solutions are well understood; they just need to be implemented. I hope that more focused and revealing media coverage will help advance leadership.
Mark Webster
Auburndale
Another problem calls for attention
Nice climate initiative. Now make one for democracy!
brand hooker
Newton
