Dear Editor,
Thank you for William J. Kemble’s report, “Climate Row at Ulster County Fair seeks to counter oil industry,” of Aug. 5.
The Climate Row booth represented nine local environmental non-profits. I will add that above the booth’s wealth of information hung a large graph showing how America breaks down in terms of climate change interest or disinterest, researched by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication.
The categories run from dismissive (9%), doubtful (10%), disengaged (5%), cautious (17%), concerned (25%) and alarmed (33%). While at the booth, I marked my designation “alarmed” with a straight pin where many had identified themselves.
Alarmed does not mean hopeless or without agency.
There’s hope now in the aggressive climate package that’s part of the Inflation Reduction Act just passed by the Senate and on its way to the House. This legislation has been modeled by outside groups as getting us very close to the U.S. Paris Climate commitment.
While this is not the end of the story by a long shot, we should thank our Senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand for making the changing climate a priority. Thank you, Daily Freeman, for environment coverage.
Sincerely,
Elizabeth Strum,
Saugerties
