Linked to the climate crisis is a rise in heart and lung diseases caused by poor air quality, increased vector-borne diseases spread by ticks and mosquitoes, increased wildfires, hurricanes, floods and droughts, crop failure and food insecurity.

We must stop using fossil fuels before it’s too late. Not only do we need to travel less, eat more plants instead of animals, use less plastic, buy less unnecessary items, but also governments and corporations must stop supporting fossil fuels and develop sustainable renewable technologies.

Meanwhile, our federal and local governments must enact a price on carbon so that we make this switch, thereby creating more jobs and healthier air.

Along with a cashback or dividend feature to alleviate the increase in fuel prices from the fee on carbon to emitters, this strategy is vital because it can help quickly and efficiently.

The IPCC report supports this: “Explicit carbon prices remain a necessary condition of ambitious climate policies,” the report says.

Many scientists, 100 municipalities, businesses, 3,500 economists and more than 45 countries, besides two-thirds of Americans, want this.

We can reach net zero by 2050 with this policy. What are we waiting for? Please ask your governmental representatives, and your friends to ask theirs.

Bobbie Best

Wailuku