To the Editor

At its October 21st meeting, the Colton Town Board adopted a Climate Emergency resolution that calls upon the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to develop and implement a statewide educational campaign on the subject of extreme climate worsening. The proposed campaign would include DEC hosted public meetings in every county of the State. Colton's resolution invites DEC to begin its educational outreach there.

The effort to produce the adopted resolution was initiated by our Living Lightly on Earth group. Board member Jim Williams worked with us over the course of several weeks to draft the successful resolution.  Jim is now working on the letter that will be sent to DEC requesting the educational campaign described in the Climate Emergency resolution.

The proposed DEC educational outreach will build public awareness of the Climate Emergency and the urgent need for climate mitigation sufficient to prevent extreme climate worsening. The people of New York State do not want to see the climate of the foreseeable future wreaked for lack of trying. DEC education on extreme climate worsening can create a groundswell of public support for the absolutely essential climate mitigation efforts of New York State government.  

Let us all join together in racing to Save the Climate. The Climate Emergency knowledge must be used for the Greater Good. To do otherwise is nothing less than a sin against Nature, all of the wild animals and humankind as well. Will climate science knowledge be shared widely for its best effect in a dire situation such as this or will it be kept in the minds and books of a limited few? 

Using scientific and traditional knowledge for the Greater Good should be the overarching goal of all those humans who have come to possess that knowledge. Working together we can solve the climate problem. All we need to do is work harder than ever before on making the economy wide, sector by sector greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions called for in the 2015 Paris Agreement.

Don Hassig 
Living Lightly on Earth
Colton