To the editor:

It’s difficult to understand how supercharged Ida turned multiple states upside down just weeks ago. Or how supercharged Harvey gave Houston 60 inches of rain in 24 hours in 2017. And supercharged Katrina cost us $125 billion to clean up in 2015.

I would rather forget how deteriorating ocean, atmospheric and arctic conditions played a role in the 10 million acres of burned forests, the deadly heat wave in the Pacific Northwest earlier this year, and the subzero winter storm Uri that walloped Texas in February because the polar vortex broke down. And the heat. The Union of Concerned Scientists projects eastern Kansas will have 50-100 days above 100 degrees by 2050. Two to three months above 100! This is not normal. 

Consider taking an interest in the infrastructure bill and the accompanying reconciliation in the U.S. Congress. Study them. Both bills will affect our response related to climate for the next 10 years. The country has many crises requiring action. The infrastructure bill offers a modest down payment on our collective needs. The reconciliation package being considered gets closer to the scale of the problems we face. These investments are decades overdue.  I understand human fragility and the inclination to focus on our own interests. I can even grasp conservatives’ high need for closure, which leads to having fixed beliefs, impervious to new information. But now is the time for government intervention. Contact Sens. Roger Marshall and Jerry Moran and Rep. Jake LaTurner as their committees consider these bills. 

Tony Schmidt,

Lawrence