Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Corner: Get involved! | News, sports, jobs

Climate corner in the Mid-Ohio Valley (photo illustration/MetroCreative)

In a study conducted from July to November 2023 by NYU School of Medicine, Stanford University, Utah State University, the University of Washington and George Washington University, among others, and published in the journal Lancet Planetary Health, people ages 16 to 25 surveyed from all 50 U.S. states who asked them to rate their concerns, thoughts and feelings about climate change. Respondents were also asked to indicate their political affiliation and their opinions and ideas about who bears the greatest responsibility for causing climate change.

Jessica Glenza reported on the survey results in The Guardian newspaper and summarized them as follows: “An overwhelming majority of young people said they were worried about the climate crisis – 85% said they were at least moderately worried and more than half (57%) said they were “very or extremely” worried. Nearly two-thirds agreed with the statement, “Humanity is doomed,” and more than half of respondents (52%) agreed, “I hesitate to have children.”

Glenza mentions this too “Large majorities of both major political parties — 92% of Democrats and 73% of Republicans — said they were concerned about the climate.” Glenza continues: “Respondents also said they had negative thoughts about the climate and had planned actions to address their concerns, including voting for political candidates who would pledge to support 'aggressive' policies.”

These young people are rightly worried and fearful. A study published in the journal Bioscience measured 35 percent of planet Earth “vital signs” for the year 2023 and found that 25 were worse than ever. Earth's surface and ocean temperatures are at an all-time high due to record burning of fossil fuels, and the number of people worldwide is increasing by about 200,000 per day, while the number of domestic animals that require large amounts of resources, such as cattle and sheep, is increasing daily about 170,000 rise. The review ends with the scientific authors stating: “Only through decisive action can we protect the natural world, avert grave human suffering and ensure that future generations inherit the livable world they deserve.” The future of humanity is at stake.”

Those who still deny the existence of anthropogenic (human-caused) global warming or global climate change are either extremely misguided (often through propaganda funded by industries such as fossil fuels that place great emphasis on concerted action to combat it to prevent the climate crisis) or they are willfully ignorant. A study published October 19, 2021 in the journal Environmental Research Letters, a survey of 88,125 climate-related studies, found that 99.9% of peer-reviewed scientific papers agree that climate change is primarily caused by humans (see: “More than 99% consensus on human-caused climate change in the peer-reviewed scientific literature” by Mark Lynas, Benjamin Z. Houlton and Simon Perry).

We have a moral and ethical responsibility, not only to ourselves, but also to our children, grandchildren and all posterity, to act meaningfully and safely on climate change with the utmost urgency and in every way we can. Part of this action requires us to be climate-motivated voters in the 2024 election cycle.

To encourage people to become climate voters, you may have seen where we at Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action have set up climate voter billboards in downtown Parkersburg across from the front of the United building, on Main Street in Belpre, and in Ohio have Rt. 7 in Marietta. You may also have heard our Climate Voter radio ads on 103.1, 103.5 and 95.1 and seen our Climate Voter ads here in the Parkersburg News and the Sentinel. We have great “Climate Voter” billboards that say “climate.” “Climate Voters: Make America Green Again” and on the other side “Protect what’s ours: Be a climate voter.” You can obtain a yard sign by sending an email to [email protected] as shown on the billboards and newspaper advertisements.

As of this month, Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action is a nine-year organization dedicated to addressing the global climate crisis in the Mid-Ohio River Valley of West Virginia and Ohio. Our commitment to educating, mobilizing, organizing and activating our communities to address the climate crisis and related crises (e.g. plastic and petrochemical pollution, biodiversity loss) is unwavering.

We are committed to a cleaner, healthier, more affordable, safer and more stable future for everyone alive today and for all generations to come. We clearly support working class values ​​and solidarity, the right to unionization and collective bargaining, and circular, sustainable care economies based on community well-being rather than over-consumption and exploitation. We love, honor and respect our families, friends and other community members who have worked in polluting and dangerous industries for a living and in every way want better for all of us.

Early voting in West Virginia began on Wednesday, October 23rd and runs through Saturday, November 2nd. Election Day is Tuesday, November 5th. Learn more about the positions and proposals of the candidates and parties in this election on climate, environment and public health. Cast your vote for climate action in 2024!

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Eric Engle is CEO of Mid-Ohio Valley Climate Action.