Thanks for the article “Data under freeze warning” (in print May 10). The article describes how the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) will no longer track the cost of weather disasters such as floods, wildfires, hurricane damage and other extreme weather events fueled by climate change. Silencing this information reminds me of the story of the emperor who has no clothes. If NOAA, the Environmental Protection Agency and other federal agencies stop reporting on the cause and effects of climate change, then the president can go around ignoring it.
In the 40 years that NOAA has been collecting weather disaster data, the results have been eye-popping. The number of billion-dollar extreme weather events in the United States has more than quadrupled, as have the inflation-adjusted total dollar cost. Hiding from this data will not make the problem go away.
Equally important, the cost of blunting the worst effects of climate change gets more and more expensive the longer we ignore it. Talk about pennywise and pound-foolish!
U.S. citizens and scientists have a need and a right to know the size of the problem. Citizens should write Congress asking that NOAA not be defunded, emphasizing our need for accurate extreme weather forecasting and weather event data tracking.
— Albert Wagner, Orland Park
Training that opens doors
The construction industry is known for offering stable, well-paying jobs with great benefits, but it isn’t known for being very diverse. Few women currently enter the industry, even though the construction trades present great career opportunities for us. In fact, construction is one of the few fields with near pay parity between men and women — women earn 95% of what men make, compared with the 80% average across other industries. Some positions allow you to be your own boss, offering flexible hours that working mothers need.
When I entered the Climate Works Pre-Apprenticeship Program at Southwestern Illinois College, something clicked. I’d always been fascinated by furniture, taking old dressers and customizing them in my spare time, but I never knew this career was available to me. Through the program, I was introduced to women who were breaking barriers in the carpentry field. Beyond mentorship, I gained the technical skills I needed to succeed in the field.
Today, I’m excited to embark on my new career journey, and I hope to inspire other women to enter the trades. The Climate Works Pre-Apprenticeship Program is taking big first steps to help more women and minorities break into these great careers, but we can’t afford to lose momentum. As the federal government seems to be turning its back on us, it’s even more critical for Illinois lawmakers to invest in training programs that keep this door open for women.
— Myeisha Cook, graduate, HIRE360 Illinois Climate Works Pre-Apprenticeship Program, Southwestern Illinois College
Reducing plastic pollution
As the weather in Illinois this year slowly gets warmer, and I am finally feeling the sun on my skin again, I catch myself dreaming of one thing: a beach day. I am sure that many other Illinoisans agree with me that a day on the shores of Lake Michigan is a day well spent. However, plastic pollution on our beaches can quickly put a damper on the outing. With 22 million pounds of plastic ending up in the Great Lakes annually, the sight of plastic on beaches is all too common.
Being a nature-loving Northwestern University student who lives just two minutes from the beach, I frequently find myself walking there, especially when I am stressed or needing to clear my head. However, the sight of single-use plastic littering the beach and surrounding areas often adds to my worry, even if climate-anxiety was not the original source of my troubles. Plastics we use one time should not stay around for hundreds of years.
Thankfully, legislators in the Illinois legislature are working hard to phase out polystyrene foam, one of the worst kinds of single-use plastic. Just recently, SB1531, the Farewell to Foam bill sponsored by Sen. Laura Fine, passed out of the Senate. The bill aims to ban foam food containers in the state by 2030. Should this pass, it would greatly reduce the amount of plastic pollution in the Great Lakes. More than 85% of the plastic found polluting our beaches is made of single-use plastics, and foam pieces are the No. 3 top litter item collected by volunteers. By eliminating polystyrene foam in the state, we can hopefully greatly reduce the amount of plastic pollution as well.
This bill getting passed would have immense positive benefits for the state. As it makes its way into the Illinois House, it is now more important than ever to show our state legislators that we support this bill.
A day at the beach without worrying about plastic everywhere is attainable. Readers can call their state representative and ask them to support this bill that will say farewell to foam in Illinois.
— Abby Green, Evanston
Leader of the 9th District
We want to congratulate and thank U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky as she prepares to finish more than two brilliant decades in Congress. She has worked tirelessly to improve health care, women’s rights and other parts of society, and she has fought for bold policies that address climate change and protect our environment, something we care deeply about.
With her consistent focus on serious solutions to climate change, the congresswoman has been a strong supporter of bipartisan climate change solutions backed by the Citizens’ Climate Lobby. She reached across the aisle and joined the Climate Solutions Caucus in 2016, which paired Republicans and Democrats with the aim to build constructive dialogue for lasting climate solutions. She was an early co-sponsor of the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act of 2018, which for the first time in the U.S. would have put an economy-wide price on carbon pollution. She also supported the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022, the most important climate legislation ever signed into law in the U.S.
Whether it was legislating, speaking at conferences or simply engaging in one-on-one meetings, Schakowsky brings passion and urgency to the problem of climate change because she clearly understands the importance of addressing it for her constituents and the world.
As politicians line up to represent residents of Illinois’ 9th Congressional District, we will be watching closely how they talk about climate change. Do they accept the scientific consensus about the threat and costs of global warming from fossil fuel pollution? Do they agree that policy changes are necessary at the state and federal levels to achieve important climate goals? If elected to Congress, what will they do to address the climate crisis?
Whoever represents the 9th District in the next Congress will have big shoes to fill.
— Jeff Green, Bill Hayes, Henry Moss, Tony Quintanilla and Joe Tedino, volunteers, Citizens’ Climate Lobby, Chicago area
Good Samaritans exist
On May 3, I went to the secretary of state’s driver service facility in Joliet to get my Real ID license.
The line was very long, and I need a walker to get around, so it took me a bit of time to reach the end of the line. I stood for l0 or 15 minutes and got very tired and achy! I decided to leave.
As I turned, a man came over to me and said, “Come with me!” He led me to a spot close to the door. He said, “We watched you and said, ‘She needs help.’”
This letter is to say thank you to the man wearing the Chicago Bears jacket and his companion: You two are proof that most people are really good!
— Billie Wegler, Plainfield
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