We attended the Climate March in Augusta. It was encouraging to see people of all ages in numbers, stretching most of the way around Capitol Park after the opening speeches. Not every day do we hear from an impressive high school student of Somali background, a lobsterman, and political leaders all sharing one podium.

One speaker urged us to write newspapers and legislators. We hope everyone will do so. It’s fine to write legislators urging them to vote for renewable energy, to slow down climate change, or to save the earth. But general expressions of sentiment don’t help them much. People need to do some homework. Follow specific issues, and ask them to vote for or against a specific bill.

A legislator once told one of us: “In my district, one phone call indicates constituent interest, three calls all on the same side of an issue is a landslide.” Each one of us can have an impact. We were pleased that two legislative leaders Republican Sen. Roger Katz and Democratic Rep. Sarah Gideon both appeared and urged us to see that climate change is not a partisan issue.

While it is easy to understand the dismay and anger with our current president, we do not believe that attacking the president or any other individual will advance programs needed to address climate change. We will only gain ground if we learn more of the science behind the problem and its solutions and support programs that are realistic but effective for families, communities, and companies.

In the future, we’d like to see the focus placed on what is right, not who is right. We must work together, Republicans, Democrats, and independents, to get our society where it needs to be on climate or any other critical policy issue.

Lloyd C. Irland

Constance Irland

Wayne