It is not only heartbreaking but scary that our President, Vice President, the GOP in general, and many other government officials do not believe in climate change.

In the book “This is the Way the World Ends” by Jeff Nesbit discussion focuses on the melting of the polar ice caps, as well as, what is called “The Third Pole.” This being the mountains south of China, the Himalayas, especially. The glaciers here have been studied for more than 50 years and the melting of the glaciers has accelerated at an alarming rate. These mountain glaciers were the result of thousands of years of snow packs which have tapered off dramatically. Water from these mountains support 1.4 billion people. Currently the rivers flow with adequate water but the future water supply is already being reduced every year.

The Arctic weather has dramatically warmed. This has changed the wind patters of the earth, which in turn has helped warm the oceans. This warming has allowed the atmosphere to hold far more moisture than usual and when there are storms, the rainfall is far more than usual, as evidenced by recent floods in numerous areas of the United States and other places of the world. But these storms are unfortunately not dropping rain in the best locations like where the water would drain into major reservoirs.

Look at the water levels behind the Hoover dam. The weather forecasts for rainfall to refill this reservoir are grim. The water from the Colorado River is critical to numerous states so what does the future hold?

As we have all noticed the local weather this year and the severe flooding, the large quantity of tornadoes and life threatening events.

The other issue not contemplated by most of the population is the collapse of the pollinators. The bees, etc. that enable pollination of hundreds if not thousands of different fruits and vegetables. Climate change, differing temperatures, atmospheric conditions, chemical makeup of the atmosphere and the oceans are driving pollinators to find different habitats but not necessarily where they are most needed to pollinate the crops.

The present administration has supported businesses and industries by trashing the EPA and numerous critical environmental regulations. These efforts are counterproductive in the long term. But politically speaking the president and others are supporting big business in an effort to gain support in the next election.

I shudder based on what I have read that Koch Industries with Georgia Pacific and hundreds of petroleum based industries finds it easier and cheaper to pollute and pay the fines than to fix the sources of their pollution.

We all need to be aware of the consequences of our actions toward global warming and support government officials that care about our environment, the future of children, grandchildren and the planet.

Our present administration is a major part of the problem not a part of the solution. They have decided to hide from the Paris Accord and other agreements around the world which support controlling and reducing global warming. We do not need a showman leading our country, We need a concerned, empathetic person who is respected by the leaders of other countries.

Steve Rowland, Burlington