Yes, kids are at risk from COVID. But parents must pay attention to climate change, too | Opinion

If you think COVID-19 is our biggest threat, think again. As a mom, it blows my mind that more parents are not alarmed about what’s in store for our kids in the next 20 to 30 years.

We go about our day monitoring iPad times, rushing to take kids to sports activities and making sure they eat healthy food. Yet, don’t understand that all our hard work will not prepare our children for what’s coming.

Skeptics have attacked the science about COVID-19 and the life-saving vaccines. People who doubt that the climate is warming do the same thing.

It’s no surprise that some elected officials have made this a partisan issue, even going as far as spreading lies when they actually know the truth of what’s happening. They care only about their political careers. And all of this comes at a high cost to their constituents.

The world’s top climate scientists just came out with a “Code Red” report through the IPCC United Nations stating that we are now facing worst-case scenarios: If we don’t reduce our heat-trapping emissions, Earth’s rising temperatures will produce more killer heat waves, stronger hurricanes, longer droughts, heavier downpours and more cataclysmic fires.

The frustrating reality is that just like with COVID-19, for which we have the solution in vaccines, we also have solutions to lower global warming pollution.

For instance, we need to transition to clean, renewable electricity. Even world-renowned consulting companies such as McKinsey & Company have shown that these solutions can strengthen our economy. So what are our elected officials waiting for?

As the world’s second-largest emissions polluter, the United States has a responsibility to clean up its pollution. I know people like to point fingers at other countries, but I would ask: Would you let your kids get away with doing something wrong simply because the neighbor’s kids are doing it?

Most parents would not let that argument slide. Why do we let it slide from the people we have put in power? Our planet has a bad high fever. As parents, we rely on pediatricians to help guide us when our kids are sick. Think of the planet in the same way. We need to listen to the scientists who are telling us what we need to do to lower the fever.

Florida is the state most vulnerable to climate damage, therefore it’s crazy that too many elected officials here talk so much about “resilience” yet have done little to nothing to address the elephant in the room. What are they going to do about lowering our global-warming pollution?

And just as DeSantis has overreached by tying the hands of local officials who want to impose stringent COVID-safety rules, he and the state Legislature have taken similar actions regarding the climate crisis, prohibiting municipalities from enacting their own clean-energy goals.

Do we want to risk the only home we have? Can we look our kids in the face and know we’re doing right by them if we don’t recognize what we’re doing to their planet and change course?

I call on all parents to become passionate climate ambassadors.

We need to come together to defend our children’s future and hold elected officials accountable for their lack of action. Scientists have confirmed we cannot put this off any longer.

We are the generation that will guarantee or destroy our children’s future.

Natalia Ortiz is director of development at The CLEO Institute.

“The Invading Sea” is the opinion arm of the Florida Climate Reporting Network, a collaborative of news organizations across the state focusing on the threats posed by the warming climate.