Read Their Stories - Page 5

Dear Governor Strickland, 

I am a 1st grade teacher just down Broad Street in Columbus (Douglas Elementary) I work hard to give my kids a creative edge by including a design center in my classroom. That is why I appreciate your emphasis on encouraging innovation in schools.

With everyone's attention on energy solutions, we have an opportunity to invest in including the unemployed to build solar powered equipment and wind turbines.  As Van Jones writes: "The chief moral obligation of the 21st Century is to build a green economy that is strong enough to lift people out of poverty. Those communities that were locked out of the last century's pollution-based economy must be locked into the new, clean and renewable economy. Our youth need green-collar jobs, not jails."

Please continue demonstrating your concern for the citizens of Ohio, the U.S.A., and the world by acting to reduce global warming.  There is no longer any question that warming is occurring.  There are many alternative energy options which can be followed. Please work to see that Ohio becomes as energy efficient as possible.  I want my children and my grandchildren to live a long and healthy life in a safe and clean environment. I grew up in a neighborhood in Toledo, Ohio where soot from the factories was a part of our daily breathing.  Many of the people I knew ended up with cancer.  Please help make a clean environment for all.

Thank you very much,

As a retired citizen and Master Gardener in Hamilton County, OH I am very concerned about suburban sprawl which increases the co2 on the planet and frequently makes Cincinnati an unhealthy place to live during the year. We need a light rail commuter system, more downtown Cinci redevelopment to attract people to move to the city, legislation allowing rain gardens and planting native plants,and increased education about the negative effects of builders destroying natural wild landscape. There is a lot we can do to change the old lifestyle and we need to do it NOW.

The hand writting is on the wall and has been for along time, unless you can not read ENGLISH!

This is the heart of most matters.  Education, which you intend to leave as your governorship legacy, is ultimately the knowledge of ourselves and our interactions/impact on the world around us. We are failing in this arena.

I have no "story" per se. I am deeply concerned about climate change and climate disruption because it is a tremendous threat that is decidedly unpersonal. All the reputable and trusted scientific bodies clearly tell us that unchecked global heating will profoundly affect ALL OF US on earth within the lifetimes of many of us living now, and certainly of our children. It will wreak havoc on our economy, it will undermine the natural support systems on which we depend, it will drive millions of us from our homes and native regions, and it will drive tens of thousands of our fellow creatures to extinction. Isn't this enough to compel ANY government official with any conscience at all to take swift and serious action?

I am an avid nature lover.  All of God's creation is precious to me.  I just recently returned from the Arctic and saw the bears that are drowning when they have to swim too far to reach the ice.  They depend on the disappearing ice for their lives. While relatively wealthy humans may be able to adjust to the climate changes, the poor and the non-humans cannot adjust to the rapid changes.  We must not give up hope.  We must change our ways now!

Please do everything you can to stop global warming and understand that you can make an impact on the future of our planet. People have been damaging the earth for hundreds of years and we are finally starting to feel the negative effects come back around. Please fight to stop the causes of global warming for the future of our planet. Every tiny step in the right direction counts!