Letter to the editor:

“As greenhouse gas emissions increase, sea levels are rising, average global temperatures are increasing, and severe weather patterns are accelerating.  These changes, coupled with other global dynamics…will devastate homes, land and infrastructure.”  —  2014 Quadrennial Defense Review, U.S. Department of Defense  

The Department of Defense has expressed concern about climate change since the George W. Bush administration, and dozens of DOD documents on this issue can be accessed at climateandsecurity.org.

What I don’t understand is how the Defense Department can clearly state that climate change is a national security threat, yet many Republicans, who are usually so supportive of our military, can continue to dismiss it.

With respect to hurricanes Helene and Milton, certainly, our first response must be to help the huge number of people who are in need.  However, these tragic events also demonstrate the powerful forces that our carbon dioxide emissions have set in motion, and why it’s necessary for the United States to take a leadership role regarding climate action.

Our common values like national security and concern for our children’s future should unify Americans on this issue.  It just doesn’t make sense to make the permanent changes to the Earth’s physics and chemistry we are making without looking at this closely together, across political divides, with open eyes and open hearts.  Let’s work together to find a path to slow climate change.

Terry Hansen

Milwaukee