Chris, I appreciate your reading and responding to the piece.

There’s an impatience and energy in the youth advocates that older, more wizened politicians need to value — just as the experience of more…

Chris, I appreciate your reading and responding to the piece. What I’m taking exception with in it is the resignation I see/hear in Mr. Obama’s comments. An acceptance, if you will, that things change at a pace we wish was faster but that we really can’t do much about.

There’s an impatience and energy in the youth advocates that older, more wizened politicians need to value — just as the experience of more practiced politicians needs to be considered in what is being demanded. I remember being told to slow down when I was in my early 20s when fighting for civil rights and also remember how much I resented first — and ignored next.

In retrospect, I shouldn’t have been so quick to ignore what my elders had to say. Neither should my elders have been so quick to dismiss my reaching beyond what they experienced.

I don’t think anyone realistically believes that the Green New Deal will be enacted lock stock and barrel as a single package of legislation. However, it provides a picture of the breadth of actions that are needed if we are to give meaning to a just transition to a sustainable environment.

Given how much time has been lost, the way forward if we are to keep temperatures down as close to the 1.5 degree Celsius threshold means there’s a need to act faster and bolder than the pace I thought was being implied by Mr. Obama in his comments.

Time’s of the essence and the only way to make up for lost time is through bolder actions.

Again, thanks for taking the time to read and comment on the article.