Ask candidates about climate change and consider their answers

There are so many issues for Iowans to consider as we decide which candidates to vote for. Though human-caused climate change may not be at the top of your list of concerns, it is critically connected to the concerns on the top of most people's lists-concerns like the economy, immigration and national security.

The money taxpayers are spending dealing with fires, floods, drought and the health effects of extreme heat are taking a bigger and bigger bite out of our pocket books. People in the southwest are coming into emergency rooms with severe burns from hot sidewalks!

The movement of people living in equatorial regions to more temperate places is an ongoing crisis in Europe; this massive migration is one cause of worldwide political instability, and is one of the driving forces causing the U.S.'s own immigrant crisis at our southern border.

So when you ask a candidate's views on the economy, immigration or national security, ask them what their plan is to address human-caused climate change, and keep their answer in mind when you vote!

Peter Rolnick

Iowa City