Today was particularly exciting for me at our advisory council meeting. The topic of the day was climate change. We discussed Cap and Trade, the Carbon Tax, banning offshore drilling, disaster mitigation, the Climate Solutions Act, and other potential legislative solutions.
On January 9, 2019, Congressman Lieu and Congressman Jimmy Gomez introduced the Climate Solutions Act of 2019. “It encourages strong renewable energy standards.” It also “aggressively targets greenhouse gases by requiring such emissions to be 80 percent below 1990 levels by 2050.” Finally, it “creates a national energy efficiency standard.”
As I have learned recently from taking online college courses, pollution kills millions of people each year around the globe. The environment impacts our health in ways most don’t consider. It is time we all make an effort to keep our environment and ourselves healthy.
As Congressman Lieu says, “there is no threat greater to our nation’s security than climate change. Failing to protect our planet will endanger the lives of millions, hurt our economy and jeopardize our children’s future. The wildfires in my district were worsened by drought conditions and are a sliver of what is in store if we fail to act.”
Most people don’t consider the health ramifications of the environment. As Congressman Lieu points out, wildfires are affected by climate change and drought. People die in wildfires. The health impacts of our environment are real — they are not fake. They should be taken seriously by everybody.
Environmental Science and Its Application to Health 