Dear President Trump, I know you care about the welfare of your fellow citizens and the country you’ve been entrusted to represent however I sincerely ask that you make an effort to broaden this care and concern to beyond those that voted for you, beyond U.S. citizens, and even beyond people living today. I urge you to think about the future of not only your own grandchildren but the grandchildren of people all around the world when deciding whether or not to pull the U.S., one of the world’s highest overall and per capita greenhouse gas emitting nations, and it’s over 320 million citizens out of the Paris Climate Agreement.

The science is in and while details may vary we have a pretty good idea of what will happen if humanity continues to pump large amounts of greenhouse gas into the atmosphere and the picture isn’t a good one. Moreover this isn’t a picture that’s going to take a millennium to develop, it’s one that’s developing right now, e.g., coral reefs. Despite all the recent headlines suggesting you were preparing to make the U.S. a rogue nation by quitting the Paris Accord for a few votes in coal country I’m still hopeful that you’ve come to learn what a serious issue climate change is and what a serious effort is needed to mitigate it, e.g., a revenue neutral carbon tax.

Humanity is at a crossroads and in December of 2015 in Paris it appeared to have taken the correct road, a road that would lead human civilization and the biosphere it depends on away from disaster and towards a more just, sustainable, prosperous, and healthy future. The world now eagerly awaits to find out whether you will side with those who will profit from more unchecked polluting and potentially trigger the unraveling of humanities greatest diplomatic achievement or with the rest of us who think we need to stay on course and speed up the transition to a sustainable economy powered by renewable energy.

Good luck with your decision, I along with millions of others in the U.S. and around the world stand ready to praise you for evolving on this critical issue or protest you for making one of the worst decisions ever made by a U.S. president.

Regards,
Darren Staszak

P.S. There’s no honor in keeping ones word if ones word was wrong, however there is honor in evolving on an issue when new information leads one to a better understanding.