Letter to the editor: Are you worried about the future of our climate?

Editor’s note: The Portager publishes letters to the editor from the community. The opinions expressed are published not because they necessarily reflect those of the publication but because we feel they contribute meaningfully to the local discourse on matters of public interest.

As I watched Trump’s address to Congress several weeks ago, his often repeated “drill baby drill” took on a much more serious meaning. Since I have been an active supporter of transitioning to non-fossil fuels and encouraging Kent’s government and businesses to start considering transitioning to solar panels so as to produce our area’s clean electricity, I would have preferred our president to shout “shine baby shine.” But Trump doesn’t respect scientists’ conclusions because he values the profits fossil fuel companies make which clearly helped him campaign for the presidency. Trump even held a fund-raising event for oil and gas executives at his Florida home. He told them that if they donated a billion dollars to his campaign that he would lower taxes and the costs of producing fossil fuels which would benefit them with higher profits. He’s serving billionaires rather than “we the people” who believe the scientists and prefer a president who doesn’t display the behaviors of an autocrat whose governance style leans him toward “crony capitalism.”