Make changes to protect our planet

To the editor:

As I was growing up, my parents tried to make me aware about the environment and climate change. They weren't always direct about it, but they made sure that I knew to recycle what I could and turn off the lights when I wasn't in the room. We also would plant trees, flowers and bushes in our yard. Last year, I took an environmental science class, which opened my eyes even more about climate change.

With the caucus coming up, it's important that we think about the environment and what its future will be if climate change continues at its current rate.

Most of the climate change is coming from humans, but there are ways that we can reduce our impacts on the climate. If we use more renewable energy sources, we will be able to cut down on a lot of our pollution. I'm getting involved with NextGen because I want to help make people aware that we can still do things to slow climate change, and prevent even bigger changes from happening. Climate change has become a political debate, when in reality it shouldn't be. Scientists say that climate change is happening. So why are there people in our government, who aren't scientists, denying that climate change is an issue?

As the caucus approaches, we should be asking candidates for their opinions on climate change and make that a factor for who we will support. We only have one planet, and we need to take care of it.

Allison Nemecek

Cedar Rapids