Letter: Climate change kills 4.5 million people per year



Bullit Marquez, Associated Press

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While not as sensational as the shootings at Sandy Hook, science demonstrates even more visceral deaths from climate change. Climate change kills 4.5 million people per year and developing countries (the global south) are disproportionately affected. Climate change is not a future problem; it's a present day global justice war.

This war is only beginning to raise alarm in more developed countries due to storms like Hurricane Sandy and increased wildfires in the West. Currently political leaders, both Democrat and Republican, stand idly by during a historic battle for climate justice. Comparable to Seneca Falls, Selma and Stonewall, the campaigns to stop tar-sands mining and the Keystone XL pipeline are tipping points in the climate justice movement. The U.S. Senate's 62-37 vote on March 22 represents a mass killing of current and future generations. Unlike Adam Lanza, senators can reverse their actions.

Ryan Pleune

Salt Lake City

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