If the state of our union is to stay strong, we need to confront climate change. With President Barack Obama’s keynote address coming up on Tuesday, I will be listening for details of his plan to act on the carbon pollution that is disrupting the stable climate upon which our communities and wildlife depend.

As an avid hiker and cross-country skier, I want today’s youth and their grandchildren to have the same opportunities to enjoy the outdoors that I have had, but climate change threatens that conservation heritage. We have a moral obligation to face up to the climate challenge and not leave it for future generations to face growing superstorms, deepening droughts and intensifying wildfires.

By gradually cutting industrial carbon pollution from power plants, ramping up clean energy and investing in climate-smart conservation strategies, President Obama’s climate action plan puts us on the path to a sustainable future. I hope President Obama also weighs in on the other side of the carbon coin — helping our military and coastal communities adapt to the changes we are seeing already. We will need a coordinated effort from the federal, state, and local governments to make that happen.

While big polluters are spending millions on an all-out lobbying blitz to try to kill these new protections, Americans strongly support climate action. The Environmental Protection Agency already has received more than 3.2 million messages from Americans, including 17,000 from Mainers, urging tough limits on industrial carbon pollution.

We have the solutions to secure our climate and safeguard our wildlife for future generations. I support President Obama’s common-sense plan.

Linda Woods, Oakland

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