Wine and chocolate. As a student studying the environment, that’s the catchphrase I’ve been taught to represent the fundamental lifestyle shift forced on us by climate change. The places we grow wine and chocolate are changing, and that’s going to change the wine and chocolate too, and not for the better. I’m on a diet though, and wine’s a bit fancy for my taste. I’m a simple guy, my catchphrase is probably something like beaches and bills. I like my beach towns big and my bills, well, not too big.
As Delaware and the world gets hotter, things are going to change. It’s not going to be an overnight apocalypse, but it’s not going to be unnoticeable either. Our beach towns are going to flood more and more because of sea-level rise, and our AC bills are going to get bigger because it’s going to be hotter. Again, we’re not talking about the imminent end of the world necessarily, but we all will feel the effects of climate change more and more in the coming months and years.
Luckily, we have a chance to prepare. In 2023, our state government is going to vote on a bill that will, among other things, invest in projects that will make communities better able to handle impacts of climate change like flooding. It will also invest in making homes better insulated, bringing down energy costs. However, even if the bill passes, all that great stuff isn’t going to magically materialize. It needs to be built.
That’s why that bill is only one part of a two-bill package. Yes, we need to build all these things to protect our beaches and bills, to protect each of our own wines and chocolates. But we also need to take care of the people doing the building. That’s what the other bill does, by ensuring we hire local workers and making sure we pay them fair wages for the work they do (work that helps all of us). This package creates jobs, helps us all out and takes care of Delawarean workers. A win-win-win, in my book.
I hope you’ll join me in calling on our state legislators to pass this green jobs package in 2023. After that, take the night off and relax with a nice glass of rosé.
-
A letter to the editor expresses a reader's opinion and, as such, is not reflective of the editorial opinions of this newspaper.
To submit a letter to the editor for publishing, send an email to newsroom@capegazette.com. Letters must be signed and include a telephone number and address for verification. Please keep letters to 500 words or fewer. We reserve the right to edit for content and length. Letters should be responsive to issues addressed in the Cape Gazette rather than content from other publications or media. Only one letter per author will be published every 30 days. Letters restating information and opinions already offered by the same author will not be used. Letters must focus on issues of general, local concern, not personalities or specific businesses.
