If we can rally against terrorism, we can rally against dangers of climate change

Twenty years ago, in response to the horror of 9/11, Americans became unified in the need to address terrorism. Today, we face any number of challenges, including the COVID crisis, climate change and an uneven economy. But instead of coming together to overcome these challenges, we find ourselves fighting each other. We can’t seem to agree on what the problem is, and we struggle to make progress because solutions are couched as political hard lines.

When it comes to climate change, there is one solution that actually works and has bipartisan support. Placing a slowly rising price on carbon fuels at their source and returning revenue to consumers has been shown by numerous studies to be effective in reducing our use of fossil fuels without hurting the economy. Such an option is being discussed as part of the U.S. Senate budget reconciliation process. This approach avoids the delays and court challenges associated with regulations and standards, and it’s also the preferred strategy of conservatives because it doesn’t interfere with individual market choices.

We are living through increasingly severe storms, floods, fires and droughts, and we can no longer afford to ignore climate change. All Americans are affected regardless of where we live, and we need to come together in support of an effective, easily understood and easily implemented solution. Please let Senators Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth and your congressional representative know that you support carbon pricing as a key part of the budget reconciliation process.

Thomas Rausch, Glen Ellyn

Universal vaccine mandate

Too many Americans have died of COVID-19 so that the self-centered and the paranoid can feel free. That “reward” does not justify the risk.

Even in a libertarian, free society, individual rights begin to diminish when the rights of others are affected.

Curt Fredrikson, Mokena

A question for anti-vaxxers

With more than 3,000 CPS students exposed to the COVID-19 virus, and with about 27% of all new covid cases being children — and also not knowing what the long term effects of the coronavirus may have on children down the road — my question is this:

What is it going to take for you to set aside your various objections and get vaccinated so as to protect the children of our nation? The fact that children are being infected in larger numbers and being hospitalized is simply unacceptable.

Daniel Pupo, Orland Park