Latest in a series on Bethlehem’s Climate Action Plan
Gadfly:
I attended the [Climate Action Plan] webinar yesterday [Wednesday] at noon and was very impressed with the thoroughness of the presentation (and the presenters).
The first portion clearly elucidated the factual evidence that the climate is warming at a rapid rate, that human activity is the primary cause, that we can document the changes that are already occurring, and that the future effects will be even more dramatic: no winter sports in PA (Bethlehem’s climate will be like that of Richmond, VA, today); more ticks and other disease-bearing pests; loss of some agricultural crops (like apples); more heavy rainstorms and thus flooding.
That the team is serious about creating an action plan to decrease the worst-case scenarios if we do nothing to minimize the negative effects of global warming that we are stuck with and to delineating means for us to adjust and be resilient to the effects we cannot minimize was very clear.
They are interested in including ALL aspects of the Bethlehem community (I guess except for those who deny the obvious science-based conclusions) in both creating the plan and carrying it out.
Is the process slow and somewhat cumbersome? Yes, it is, but it also seeks to emerge with the greatest chances of successful implementation because of the broad input.
I look forward to the next steps and applaud my community for taking such an important step!
J. D. Smullen
