To the editor:

If we don’t talk about why it matters, why would we care about the problem itself?

Addressing climate change begins by actually talking about it. It begins with why climate change matters to us.

We should care because it already affects everything at the top of our priority list. Our health, our families, our jobs, the economy and the well-being of our communities without exclusion.

Only the federal government can put an effective tax on fossil fuel. And only by returning those funds to citizens as a monthly dividend check can we provide justice during the transition. It’s a high priority.

The president and Congress are ready to act. We need to make our voices heard, now more than ever. Democracy is quite rare over human history. In the sweep of the planet’s past, living on a planet with a climate conducive to our flourishing as a species is rare beyond measure. Contact Sens. Jerry Moran and Roger Marshall and Rep. Jake LaTurner and encourage them to support the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act, so we can achieve a bipartisan solution.

The last time this much carbon was in the atmosphere, humans did not exist. Time to recognize shrinking ice sheets, glacial retreat, decreased snow cover, sea-level rise, declining Arctic sea ice, extreme events and ocean acidification. Talk about it, and act.

A lot of young people are rooted in awareness, while adults around them appear oblivious. Nothing changes when we stay in a state of passive unbotheredness. Let’s talk.

Tony Schmidt,

Lawrence