This letter is an appeal, especially to our State Senators and Representatives from western Maine who represent us in Augusta. We are members of the Maine Western Mountain Chapter of Third Act, a national climate action group whose membership is comprised of senior citizens 60 years of age and older. Our chapter currently has about 60 members from towns across western Maine. Our primary focus is to combat climate change to ensure a livable planet for the future. In our long lives, we have seen significant negative changes across the world and here in Maine. Climate change has been a key factor behind many of those changes.
In 2023, the U.S. experienced 28 weather related disaster events that had over a billion dollars in damages each, and collectively totaled over $93 billion. In the last 5 years (2019-2023) the total cost for these billion dollar+ catastrophes was $603.1 billion. Maine experienced record breaking extreme weather last year that has cost us millions. Some businesses have still not reopened or resumed full operations due to the destruction they experienced from the brutal rain and wind storm in December. In addition to physical damages, in recent years Maine businesses have also suffered revenue losses due to disrupted seasonal weather that negatively affected vegetable and fruit crops, maple syrup production, ice fishing and other cold weather related businesses, farmers, the forestry industry, etc. The warming Gulf of Maine has impacted commercial fishing along the coast.
It is just common sense that considering the billions of dollars in damages and business losses every year due to the extreme storms, wildfires, floods, heat waves, droughts, etc., across the country, we should be working diligently to get control of climate change so the destruction doesn’t happen in the first place. Scientists tell us that things will continue to get worse unless we take action, and now! It is clear that our culture, tightly woven around greenhouse gas emitting fossil fuels, has proven to be unsustainable and we cannot continue with business as usual. We must transition away from fossil fuels and utilize other energy sources as soon as we can. Unfortunately despite the endless climate related disasters and losses, there are still those who continue to stand in the way of climate action.
Climate change is serious and calls for urgent action here in Maine and across the country. We are counting on our government representatives to back legislation that expands and promotes green energy use, cuts greenhouse gas emissions, and supports the measures outlined in Maine’s Climate Action Plan. We can get climate change under control if we all pull together.
Doug Rawlings, Chesterville
Lindy Moceus, Vienna
Eileen Kreutz, Industry
Randy Oakley, Mt. Vernon
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