As fires continue to consume much of the West coast and blow deadly smoke over otherwise cloudless Indiana skies, it is time to consider just how quickly climate change is causing Indiana to suffer. The bad news is that it will continue to get worse as long as Indiana and other states continue to use coal as the primary source of electricity. Expect longer and more severe droughts and frequent bad air from far away fires.
Solutions do exist to moderate this climate change and prevent the erosion of the quality of life many Hoosiers have come to enjoy and would like to pass on to their children. California has recently mandated that all new cars sold after 2035 have to be non-fossil fuel cars. Indiana could do the same and be ahead of the curve and avoid some of the impacts that 40 million Californians are now suffering with fires and air that is toxic.
Indiana has begun to embrace solar energy and for this they should be applauded, however Indiana has not made any move to eliminate coal fired power plants and all coal mining within the state. In addition Indiana is generally unfavorable to net metering with regard to solar power on private residences.
These negative activities can be stopped by voting for environmentally conscious legislators. Please consider these issues when you consider voting this fall and every fall hereafter.
Michale Fons
Crawfordsville
