Holy Maria, these extreme weather events cost too much! Early estimates put this year’s climate chaos costs over $300 billion just for the hurricanes, not counting the economic damage from wildfires, droughts and rain bombs.

It’s remiss to not also at least acknowledge other even bigger disasters like the flooding that has affected millions in Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Nepal. The pollution from our current and past profligate fossil fuel combustion, agricultural practices and land-use policies will burden our children with a huge, painful deficit in terms of loss of biodiversity and a stable climate. As tax reform is being discussed: Tell your elected representative to put a fee on what we don’t want, like the fossil fuels contributing to climate change.

My representative, Chris Stewart, said that climate change is not a priority, but letting this global threat simmer is as bad as or worse than running up government debt like Congress has been doing for decades. It’s past time to have more elected officials saying things like Rep. Mia Love said recently, “We have to stop pretending that something isn’t wrong. We all are part of the problem, which means we all have to be part of the solution.”

Kevin Leecaster

Salt Lake City