To the Editor:
While awareness of the planetary environmental emergency increases, and efforts to mitigate it, we are losing ground in efforts to keep the planet healthy long-term for people, animals, and plants.

The past year has been alarmingly warmer worldwide than prior years, and species die off hundreds of times faster than what occurs naturally due to habitat destruction and human invasion.

Giant corporations continue to dominate policy in many nations. They have created or co-opted many large environmental organizations, are clearcutting forests and mining minerals at a furious pace, greenwash dangerous technologies, and confuse the public.

The Arctic climate is becoming unstable resulting in more frequent, deadly, and intense weather events in northern temperate regions. The Canadian forest fires last year burned an area larger than New York state and sent choking, toxic air into much of the United States, including the Capital District.

Unless we soon put people, public health, and environmental protection ahead of business as usual, today’s children face a worsening quality of life throughout their lives as climate collapses, habitat destruction and species extinction accelerate, and climate refugees flee to what they hope are safer nations.

Human intelligence and empathy will face tremendous trials this decade and century. Will we join together to create and promote the common good or succumb to violent, selfish, desperate acts of violence?

Tom Ellis

Albany