Letter: Exit from Paris climate pact is shortsighted
I am frightened for my grandsons’ future and the legacy we will leave them.
Donald Trump’s exit from the Paris Accord is shortsighted and based on ignorance. The “better deal” he promises can only be obtained as a signatory within the accord. As an outsider, there is no option to renegotiate anything. He has given up our place at the table and ceded it to other nations.
Even more alarming is his 30 percent slash in funding for the EPA and the elimination of coal mine regulations. Mines will now be allowed to dump waste into nearby streams.
Trump made a political decision, knowing he has been unable to meet campaign promises to his base. The accord exit is his piece of red meat thrown to pacify them. In his ignorance he is counting on our ignorance.
Coal jobs are not coming back. Where is the talk of government funding for retraining coal industry workers in viable jobs for the future — information technology, health services, alternate energy?
French President Macron has it right. We can only hope that other world leaders take the lead and make the planet great again.
Susan Mauk, West Richland
This story was originally published June 22, 2017 at 3:39 AM with the headline "Letter: Exit from Paris climate pact is shortsighted."