When I was not even three months old, the world almost came to an end. How fair is that I ask you? I hadn’t even learned where my feet were yet, and now I’d have no place to ever use them.
In October 1962, my parents, like so many others, put their kids to bed at night not knowing if any of the family would still be there in the morning. Obviously, I don’t have any first-hand memories of the Cuban Missile Crisis 60 years ago this month, but I do see some threads from that dangerous series of events running through our current times.
In the greatest existential threat we face today—climate change—wildfires, megastorms, heatwaves, and flooding cause death and destruction and force the relocation of families here in California, throughout the country, and around the world. The causes of human-caused climate change have been churning for decades. Addressing those causes and mitigating their impacts will take longer than the 13 days it took JFK to resolve the crisis in 1962, but that just means we can’t wait. “Later is too late” is a rallying cry used by climate activists, and it hits the mark.
That’s why I am so pleased that the major climate advances developed in the Senate this session have now officially been signed and become law. As I’ve shared before, these climate advances will reduce carbon emissions and increase renewable forms of energy—and give industry the tools they need to get the job done. The Senate Climate Package, along with several other climate bills signed into law, ensures California’s leadership on climate change and cements our partnership with the Biden-Harris administration following the recent enactment of their historic climate legislation.
Sometimes it seems there can be some confusing language around climate change, “a 50% reduction by 2040” or “a 40% reduction by 2050” or “a 45% reduction by 2055.” And so on. And it can be hard to see the progress we’ve made when we’re working through the crisis. But, I’ve learned to distill the percentages and chemical formulas and come down to this: if we keep making the kind of progress we have, as quickly and responsibly as we just did, then we can make sure that some little girl out there, just learning what her feet are all about, will be able to find a safe place to stand that won’t be burned out or washed away from her—or any of us.
Thank you for reading,
Toni
PS—I hear that if she’s able to get her electric broom charged in time, that mysterious witch of South Park will be back this Halloween. Keep an eye out for her, be safe, and have fun!
