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In the wake of the disastrous storms in Texas and Florida, Donald Trump’s EPA administrator and long- time climate change denier, Scott Pruitt, cautioned this is “not the time” to talk about the unusual storms’ causes. But he was corrected by Miami’s Mayor Tomas Regalado, a Republican., who told the Miami Herald “ This is a truly, truly poster child for what is to come.”

Closer to home, (with the numerous fires and smoke) we were reminded that a 2014 National Climate Assessment had predicted “extreme weather and more wildfires” and that “future climate change is projected to increase wildfire risks and associated emissions, with harmful impacts on health. “

While Houston was being battered by Hurricane Harvey and millions were bracing for Hurricane Irma, the most powerful storm ever recorded over the Atlantic, President Trump traveled to North Dakota where he stood by an oil refinery and boasted of his administration’s role in slashing environmental protections and promoting the fossil fuel industry. So, according to syndicated columnists Amy Goodman and Denis Moynihan, “ the man who called climate change a ‘Chinese hoax’ was doing all he could to ensure future catastrophes.”

According to four-term California Governor Jerry Brown, “There are turning points where the earth goes into irreversible change,” he warned, preparing to sign legislation to extend California’s ‘cap-and-trade’ program to reduce carbon emissions. ”This is not about a politician. It’s about the world.”

JAMES W. RAMSEY

Sandpoint