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To the Editor:
As of November 27, Governor Lee has not responded to my questions concerning our fair state’s participation or even observation of the annual Conference of the Parties or COP 28 which begins this week in Dubai. Why should I care?
The National Climate Assessment, which comes out every four to five years, was released recently and indicated warming of our climate is becoming worse in every region of our country. But, you say, we are having some very cold days in Upper East Tennessee. How can that be true?
According to climate scientists, our country is warming about 60% faster than the world as a whole. Since 1970, the Lower 48 states have warmed by 2.5 degrees with Alaska heating up by 4.2 degrees compared to the global average of 1.7 degrees. As most of us are realizing, this disruption of the climate is creating weather patterns that are more extreme and longer lasting like flooding or droughts. Needless to say, these extreme weather events are resulting in extra costs and extra safety risks for our state and our neighbors. This is why Governor Lee is hopefully taking an interest in local, regional, state, national and global conversations about the changing climate that can and should be mitigated with attention toward building resiliency.

Dr. Norma Morrison
Carter County