It’s hard to overstate exactly what’s at stake in moving forward to address the climate crisis, which is having real impacts on Virginians’ lives.

Increasingly erratic extreme weather, prolonged drought, elevated asthma rates and incidences of lung disease, and regular inundation from sea level rise along our coast are putting public health and Virginia’s economy at risk. This is the harsh reality we face from the Roanoke Valley all the way to the Eastern Shore.

Despite growing urgency to address the climate crisis, the Trump administration has shown no interest in protecting the environment or cutting U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. The Environmental Protection Agency budget’s been slashed and the department is now headed by a confirmed climate change skeptic. Other federal agencies that perform climate-related research or programmatic work have met similar fates.

Read more (The Roanoke Times)