We had a flood in our basement this summer that caused me to be thankful. Thankful that the flood was not caused by a hurricane.

This flood did not trap me in my home nor did I have to escape to my rooftop to await rescue. I was not watching the remains of my neighbors’ homes float through the street and my dog was not shivering underneath my car. The birds were not silenced by oncoming winds. No one died, and I could still have my mental health conversations over the back fence with my friends. I did not bear the long-term psychological scars of a real flood like that of past hurricanes and now Hurricane Harvey, Irma, Maria and Nate — scars that will linger far into the future.

What are the psychological scars left from hurricanes? Statistics from Hurricane Katrina give us a glimpse into the possible mental health effects on the victims of the 2017 hurricane season. Forty-nine percent of Katrina survivors, including children, developed either anxiety or a mood disorder. Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome developed in 1 out of 6 and suicide and suicidal ideation doubled.

More than 2,000 people died and a million people were displaced, resulting in epidemic depression, anger and violence, disrupting the social fabric of the community. When there are repeated incidents of extreme weather events the statistics become even more dire.

Over the past 30 years, it has become clear that warming of the air and ocean has created more destructive category 4 and 5 hurricanes. Higher sea levels from glacier melt create more destructive storm surges, warmer air holds and delivers more rainwater as evidenced by the onslaught of 2017 hurricanes.

Why should this concern us in Utah? We know that damage to our climate is caused by the burning of fossil fuels releasing CO2 into our atmosphere causing the temperature of the land and sea to rise. Our CO2 emissions here in Utah contribute to the global warming of our climate and therefore to extreme weather events on our coasts and around the world. We are our brother’s keeper so ought we have a moral and ethical responsibility to protect our neighbors from continued damage to the climate?

Should we resurrect the Golden Rule and treat others as we would have them treat us?

How do we take up our responsibility and prevent the far-reaching environmental, economic and mental health effects of a warming climate? We need to phase out the polluting fossil fuels that you and I use every day.

Citizens Climate Lobby (CCL) — www.citizensclimatelobby.org — has a well-researched plan to speed our transition to clean energy and reduce CO2 emissions. The plan is called Carbon Fee and Dividend. This plan places a predictable, increasing fee on fossil fuels at the source, then returns the fee to every household each month. Studies predict that 53 percent of households will receive a net financial benefit to cover the increasing cost of household goods.

It is quite simple, fossil fuels get more expensive. Solar, wind and geothermal get less expensive, and we begin to choose a more economical, clean, healthy way of running our lives.

Let’s continue to send aid to the hurricane-ravaged areas but also look forward to preventing these extreme weather events. Take the first step by asking your local and federal Representatives to support a fee on carbon. And asking Reps. Rob Bishop and Chris Stewart to join Rep. Mia Love on the bipartisan Climate Solutions Caucus.

Let our representatives know you are concerned about the climate’s damage to the mental health of our communities and therefore the social fabric upon which our beloved country relies.