Climate evidence abounds

Evidence that human activities change the climate is overwhelming.

Do the science. Burn a candle in a jar, then cover it. The candle goes out because burning uses oxygen to make carbon dioxide (CO2). Next, put thermometers into two jars. Add extra CO2 to one, cover, and put them in the sun. The jar with extra CO2 gets hotter.

A billion cars, trucks, vans and airplanes, and thousands of electric plants burning coal and natural gas, pump LOTS of CO2 into air. Burning just one gallon of gasoline adds nearly 20 pounds of CO2 to air. We are creating a hotter world, with problems.

The heat dries fields and forests, so we get more drought and wildfires. Evaporation puts more water into clouds, so rainfall and snowfall are heavier. Torrential rains on hard dry soil increase flooding. Melting ice weakens the jet stream that separates northern cold air from southern air, so Florida gets snow and Alaska burns.

We have alternatives — energy efficiency, solar panels, wind turbines, electric vehicles, regenerative agriculture and new technology. They will save us money, capitalize on American talent, generate local profits and jobs and preserve our future.

Louise Stonington, science teacher

Seattle