(The opinions and views expressed in the commentaries and letters to the Editor of The Somerville Times belong solely to the authors and do not reflect the views or opinions of The Somerville Times, its staff or publishers)

Dear Somerville Times,

During the last week of July, a deadly heatwave smothered over 90 million Americans [1]. This year marked the third hottest July on record, averaging 2.8 degrees above average [2]. Temperatures averaged in the triple digits in regions like the Northeast and mid-South. These record-breaking numbers [3] have caused many heat-related deaths, put people with underlying medical conditions at risk, and have caused power outages in major cities like Boston.

The cause of these extreme weather conditions is clear: climate change. And the impacts will only worsen if we continue to emit such vast amounts of greenhouse gasses into our atmosphere. The transportation sector is the greatest single contributor [4] of America’s greenhouse gas emissions with more than 90% of all vehicles using climate change-inducing fossil fuels.

Fortunately, President Biden recently signed the Inflation Reduction Act [5] into law, which includes roughly $369 billion in climate spending, designed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 40% by 2030 and put the United States’ climate goals within reach. On the transportation front, the law provides a $4,000 tax credit for consumers buying a used vehicle and up to a $7,500 tax credit for new electric vehicles, which will help car owners to replace polluting vehicles for cleaner ones.

While the law represents a compromise by including provisions that will benefit fossil fuel development, the emissions increases from these provisions are offset 24 to 1 [6] by the rest of the bill’s climate-friendly provisions. As the climate continues to warm, pollution reduction and natural climate solutions must remain a top priority for Congress. We should commend the Biden-Harris Administration who took part in passing this historical investment towards a healthier future.

Cali Salinas is a rising senior at Tufts University and serves as an intern with Environment America’s federal advocacy team.

Thank you,
Cali N. Salinas
Tufts University 2023
Applied Environmental Studies
cali.salinas@publicinterestnetwork.org

Links:

[1] https://www.cnn.com/2022/07/24/weather/us-extreme-heat-sunday/index.html

[2] https://www.noaa.gov/stories/july-2022-was-third-hottest-on-record-for-us

[3] https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/access/monitoring/monthly-report/national/202207

[4] https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/sources-greenhouse-gas-emissions

[5] https://environmentamerica.org/news/ame/updated-statement-congress-passes-historic-climate-investment [6] https://energyinnovation.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Modeling-the-Inflation-Reduction-Act-with-the-US-Energy-Policy-Simulator_August.pdf