Climate change: Northwest can’t solve global problem

Re: “Deadly fires in three states show need to address climate change,” (TNT, 9/13).

Matt Driscoll’s commentary refers many times to what we are experiencing and what we can do or are willing to do about climate change.

However, without clearly specifying who “we” represents, it is difficult to determine how realistic he is.

I am by no means a climate change denier. But I am a realist. So I was glad to see him write about what the state Department of Natural Resources is doing and wants to do about wildfire prevention.

That is something realistic this state can do to fend off the effects of climate change.

But as to actually reducing or reversing the world’s warming, anyone who thinks we as Washingtonians – or even Oregonians and Californians – can alone do anything to affect climate change is deluded.

Not even the entire United States acting alone could stop or reverse it. We could only slow it.

The best Western states can do by themselves is to mitigate the effects of climate change. Only the entire world acting simultaneously in the same way towards the same effective goal can stop and reverse it.

This story was originally published September 19, 2020 at 12:07 PM with the headline "Climate change: Northwest can’t solve global problem."