Climate Emergency
Dear Editor: Kudos to the Assembly for opting to bring to the voters the question of how Sitka should react and respond to the “Climate Emergency.” As Assemblyman Mosher put it, this is not a matter to be decided by seven politicians. (Daily Sentinel, Feb. 26: “Climate Emergency Hits Assembly Wall.”)
If such a vote actually takes place, the way to make it truly representative of what Sitkans really think – and really want done on this issue – is to put voting machines at Sitka, Pacific, and Mt. Edgecumbe high schools, and give the folks in this town who are going to actually, really have to confront and deal with Climate ChangED a say as to what should happen.
Depending upon how quickly Climate ChangED turns into an actual Climate Emergency, a significant portion of the people who are currently eligible to vote on such a referendum will probably be dead or close to death when it happens.
And a significant portion of Sitka’s high schoolers will have assumed the tasks, duties and responsibilities of adulthood, parentage, and the community cultural, civic, economic, and political management and leadership that comes with maturity.
If anybody should be able to have something meaningful to say about how this community is going to deal with Climate ChangED, it is these folks. THEY are the ones who are going to have to live with the decisions and actions that today’s adults make and execute.
They are already the ones who are going to have to live with the decisions and actions that today’s and yesterday’s adults have already made, executed, and are making and executing. That’s what Greta, Extinction Rebellion, Climate Kidz, and that ilk are all about.
One could make a similar (if not more pressing) argument on behalf of the kids at Blatchley, Baranof, and Keet, but let’s not get carried away here. Although, it would be interesting to see how a paper ballot among those future adults, parents, managers and leaders turned out, eh?
I’ve only been up here seven and a half years, and I have seen the weather patterns change distinctly. And folks who have lived here and throughout Alaska their whole lives tell me that those patterns have changed even more for them. One can only wonder: At what point does a significant change in the weather constitute Climate ChangED?
Jeff Moebus, Sitka
