President-elect Donald Trump’s nominees for Secretaries of State, Interior, Energy and administrator of the EPA have all made their careers and fortunes telling the public, on behalf of the oil, gas and coal industry, that the effects of burning those fossil fuels on climate change can be ignored.
Maine Sens. Susan Collins and Angus King know better. They know that unrestrained fossil fuel consumption has heated the waters of the Gulf of Maine faster than almost any other waters on Earth, driving out the cod and other seafood that state fishermen have always depended on. They know that it is causing rising sea levels, which are starting to swallow coastal zones. They know that it is bringing blights, pests and diseases that have never before been able to survive the Maine climate to forests, wildlife and people.
They know that it is making it more difficult for Maine’s skiing and other winter sports businesses to survive. In short, they know that Mainers, like all Americans, need the federal government to promote drastic reductions in the worldwide consumption of oil, gas and coal.
That means that all Maine residents need to encourage Sens Collins and King to vote against confirming nominees Rex Tillerson, Ryan Zinke, Rick Perry and Scott Pruitt.
James Parakilas, Lewiston
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