Letters

I’d like to add to Karl Grossman’s column [“Zeldin Under Fire,” Suffolk Closeup, Opinion, July 31], in which he informed readers of Lee Zeldin’s disastrous leadership of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Alongside the anti-environmental actions mentioned in Mr. Grossman’s column, it’s important to note that Trump-Zeldin policies have reversed a key environmental ruling. By overturning the 2009 “Endangerment finding,” the scientific analysis to justify regulating carbon emissions, Lee Zeldin reduced the U.S.’s capacity to address climate change.

Payoff? Please note: The fossil fuel industry contributed $75 million to the Donald Trump campaign and added $19 million to Trump’s inauguration. And, as has been pointed out by another letter writer, John Neely, big oil has been lying about climate science for decades.

Individual states, counties and localities will need to step up in the effort to mitigate climate change. Praise to Southampton Town for earning New York State’s Bronze Climate Smart Community and adopting a Climate Action Plan — not perfect, but other communities have not done nearly as much as we have.

Meanwhile, on a federal level, the USA has become detached from the international effort to fight climate change. The USA will not be attending the next climate summit. Other countries, such as Sweden, Costa Rica, United Kingdom, Iceland, Germany, Uruguay, Kenya and New Zealand, will be attending to advise other nations on their significant advances to reduce their carbon footprint.

And China — enormous steps forward. China is still a too-large emitter of greenhouse gases, but its strategic effort to become a renewable energy powerhouse is notable. Whether it’s electric vehicles, solar panels, wind turbines or advanced battery energy systems, China has rapidly become the green tech innovator and exporter upon which many countries rely to meet their climate goals.

China has become the world’s largest manufacturer of solar panels and wind turbines. China’s exports of solar modules have experienced a 34 percent year-on-year increase. China dominates the global electric vehicle market and produces an electric vehicle, the NIO ET7, with a range of 600 miles per charge. China produces four other cars that exceed Tesla’s range.

China is strategically investing in renewable energy projects overseas, particularly in countries participating in the “belt and road initiative.”

Here’s a quote: “China is the birthplace of the global green industrial revolution” (Professor Elizabeth Thurbon, University of New South Wales, cited at the World Economic Forum).

The Trump administration is placing a disastrous bet on the old fossil fuel revolution, and as we abandon the fight, more countries will turn to China for leadership and resources. What a shame.

Mike Anthony

Westhampton

Anthony is a former chair of the Southampton Democratic Committee — Ed.