To the editor:

Many KU students skipped classes on Friday for the nationwide climate strike.

It is clear that students are concerned about the environment.

We have all been told that carbon emissions from fossil fuels are the problem and have to be reduced. Here’s a fact: Carbon emissions in the U.S. already have been lowered to 1980s levels. Other countries cannot make that statement. Another fact: The worst CO2 polluters and polluters of the ocean, land and air are China and India, not the U.S.

If you want to clean a dirty room and you start in the clean corners, the big mess in the middle is still there, becoming more of a hazard. To clean a dirty room, you have to tackle the biggest mess.

Anyone who is concerned about the oceans, land and air, should be focusing all their energy on stopping China and India from their polluting ways.

Were there youth climate strikes in China or India? Are any concerned environmental organizations trying to push those governments into action?

You can be emotional and fuss and go on strike, but until China and India stop polluting, America’s environmental efforts will not make a difference to the global climate. That’s just a fact.

Rebecca Dorward,

Lenexa