Climate change deserves greater state attention

Dear Editor:

The Texas Tribune published an article today, June 2, 2023, called, 'Climate proposals withered at the Texas Capitol this year.' This article summarizes the various ways pro-environmental policies failed to pass at the Texas legislature in the last few months. One section that struck a poignant chord with me was the 'Extreme Heat Ignored.'

The summer of 2022 and the scorching temperatures it brought upon Texas are unequivocally the result of climate change. Yet, Texas legislators dismissed multiple bills that would help Texans to cope with the increasing heat. As both of one of the hottest and most populous states, Texas presents a prime opportunity to study the effects of climate change on large populations. Different Texas House Democrats advocated for such a study to become a state requirement, but this request fell on deaf ears.

As climate change advances, the summers in Texas will only become more unbearable, posing a greater threat to the health and lives of its disadvantaged citizens. The Texas legislature must maintain policy that protects vulnerable groups, such as prisoners in unventilated prisons and construction workers in need of heat breaks, to name a few.

Ross Crow.

Austin