PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • June 5, 2021
Decades ago, scientists warned that continued overreliance on fossil fuels would accelerate climate change making extreme weather events more common, and putting our economy and way of life in danger. A recent study reports that sea-level rise and storm surges by 2050 could lead to the loss of about 22,000 jobs and building damage of $17.5 billion in Maine alone. Just 100 investor- and state-owned multinational fossil fuel companies are responsible for around 70 percent of the world’s historical greenhouse-gas emissions. As a former member of Congress, I am outraged that big oil and gas companies want to foist the costs of mitigating climate disasters onto taxpayers after these same companies promoted their products with no concern for the “catastrophic” damages they cause. It is time for real action on climate change that holds polluting industries accountable, addresses the policies that make the problem worse, and ends wasteful giveaways to industries, like oil and gas, that are trying to shift the costs onto taxpayers. ~ David F. Emery (R), Tenants Harbor, former U.S. Representative, 1975-1983