Describing President Trump’s Sept. 23 speech to the U.N. General Assembly, foreign newspapers called it “deranged,” “violent,” “insulting,” “incoherent” and “crazy.” I say, “Trump is dangerous.” In his speech he claims that climate change is “the greatest con job ever perpetrated on the world.”

Now that he gets no resistance from the courts nor the Republican Congress, he acts on his groundless opinion by halting renewable projects and rescinding appropriated funds that would create jobs and promote clean energy. He stops agencies from researching climate change, destroying data and knowledge. He favors fossil fuel production, which is more expensive than renewables.

Trump continued, “All of these predictions made by the United Nations and many others, often for bad reasons, were wrong. They were made by stupid people.” Climate scientists, with advanced degrees and peer-reviewed results, have identified and studied climate change since the 1970s. Their predictions have been frighteningly accurate. On Sept. 28, the Maine Sunday Telegram published three articles about the impact of human-caused climate change on Maine’s lakes, forests, oceans, wildlife and schoolchildren’s ability to learn in overheated schools.

Our environment is changing in real time. California Gov. Gavin Newsom noted that he has witnessed communities wiped off the face of the Earth. His response to Trump’s speech, “There’s no Republican … or Democratic thermometer, just reality. And a lot of us are getting mugged by reality. … wake up to the reality.”

Dorothy Jones
Brunswick