I am writing to express my complete agreement and support of Mayor Ken Koelsch with regard to the City and Borough of Juneau voting to support the Paris Climate Agreement. The Assembly should follow his advice and reconsider their vote on this issue.
As a lifelong Juneau resident, I believe the majority of our residents are conscientious citizens and want our community to be the best it can be — including in regard to environmental issues. As the mayor pointed out, the local Sustainability Commission is working on a draft plan which will be presented to the Assembly. Let’s do our part to protect our environment by addressing those issues and not get diverted by putting time, energy and money into an agreement that I would venture to guess most of us have not read and do not know exactly what supporting it means.
Koelsch is right: “Every citizen should be an informed citizen.”
I would also ask: “Is supporting the Paris Climate Agreement without really understanding exactly what that support entails actually just a way of the City and Borough of Juneau showing disagreement with the Trump administration?”
Whether we agree or disagree with the national and international politics, let’s keep our local efforts united and focused and not go down that track.
Assembly members, please listen to our mayor. Reconsider the vote to support the Paris Climate Agreement. Vote “no.” It certainly doesn’t mean we won’t continue doing our part to support a clean environment. Let’s not get embroiled in a vote of support for an International Agreement which I believe the majority of Juneau citizens have not read and do not know exactly what supporting the agreement really means.
Paula Smith,
Juneau