The insightful opinion piece by Moriah Lavey that appeared in the March issue of The Daily Northwestern reminds us that our Chicagoland’s spring-like winter was a byproduct of something much more sinister: catastrophic global climate change. It is abundantly clear to everyone that the climate has changed, and amply clear to 97 percent of climate scientists that human activity has played a large role in it. Lavey ends her piece by sounding a call to action to the Northwestern community to get involved. But how can we bring about substantial change when this important issue facing all of mankind has become so politicized?

To venture a modern-day paraphrasing of Charles Dudley Warner, “Everyone complains about the climate, but nobody does anything about it.” There are two things we can do now to pass laws that will make meaningful change.

Firstly, write to your representative and implore him or her to learn about the Climate Solutions Caucus. This is a bipartisan group in the House that is dedicated to passing legislation to halt climate change. They need to reach a critical mass in order to introduce bills that will actually make it to the House floor. Every Democratic member must have a Republican counterpart, so whether you come from a Blue district or a Red one, convince your representative to find a partner and join.

Secondly, support a nonpartisan effort to get Congress to pass a carbon fee-and-dividend law. An overwhelming majority of economists agree that placing a price on carbon emissions is the most effective way to discourage burning of fossil fuels and encourage the development of renewable energy sources. Citizens’ Climate Lobby is a national organization of people like you who are working to get Congress to pass such a bill. The fee collected when fossil fuels exit the ground is distributed back to each household to make sure the costs of transitioning to a carbon-free economy don’t come out of the pockets of consumers. A national study determined that lower income households would receive a net benefit from the fee and dividend. There is a CCL Chapter in Evanston, and you are welcome to join. Visit citizensclimatelobby.org for more information.

Let’s direct our energies toward these simple things we can do as citizens that can actually make a difference.

William A. Muller, M.D., Ph.D.
Magerstadt professor of pathology at Feinberg School of Medicine

Kathleen DeAmico
Bienen School of Music ’14
Pritzker School of Law J.D. candidate ’19