I was encouraged by Prof. Tom Bateman’s Dec. 9 op-ed, “The window of opportunity for productive climate action is still open.” As Bateman says, we have the technology to deal with the climate situation and need only the will to think long-term.

Our government is the organization that should be leading us, not holding us back. Our representatives should be thinking ahead — where do we want to be in 20 years, 50 years, 100 years? Our children, grandchildren and even great-grandchildren need us to maintain our beautiful planet for them and the generations to come.

Let’s move to clean energy, which is available now, and stop pumping more pollution and greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Let’s upgrade our electric grids so we can use all that carbon-free energy. Let’s keep our health and that of our planet on the right track for future generations.

Maggie Wineburgh-Freed
Los Angeles, Calif.