Politics always part of the mix

Thank you for sharing the Herald’s editorial on the recent U.S. Senate “all-nighter,” discussing climate change (“Why politics must fall away.”)

Climate change, and the possibility of man playing a major role in it, is a very difficult topic for any newspaper to cover. Witness the extremely divisive comments posted in The Herald in response to your editorial. This is typical of other publications as well. I note that a lot of the debate is political; not science. Some would say it is between “religion” and science…

In the end, though we generally operate under fairly limited information, we arrive at an opinion — for or against the idea of man-induced climate change. Being a changist (warmist) myself, I am of course pleased that our two state senators, Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell, were present during the all-night discussion of climate change.

I can’t help but wonder what Rick Larsen, our district’s U.S. Congressman would have done, were he to serve instead in the Senate. My impression is that Rep. Larsen values the clean air and water in his district, especially since the environment is a magnet for recreational jobs like hunting and fishing … but I believe he is a cautious man when it comes to taking a stand on climate.

I encourage every representative to study the climate issue and take a stand. In the end, climate is not all science. For better or worse, politics seem to carry the day.

Lee James

Coupeville