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Enlightened Leadership

This letter is a response to your June 13 article “State Representative Palm Reviews Legislative Freshman Year.” As a voter in the 36th Assembly District, it was encouraging to see a robust democratic process at work in the last legislative session, and particularly to read that our freshman representative, Christine Palm, has followed through with her campaign commitment to bring positive change and progressive values to state government.

Rep. Palm has demonstrated extraordinary leadership in the General Assembly, introducing two significant bills on climate change. The first, SB 588, called for the banning of seismic surveying and off-shore drilling for gas and oil, protecting the environment and valuable resources of the Connecticut coastline. This bill passed in the Senate, which was a credit to our freshman legislator, but will have to wait until next year to become law. The second bill, HB 7083, would provide for the inclusion of climate change education in the Connecticut public school curriculum. This bill passed in the House and received national attention, demonstrating a wide interest in climate change education. Despite the efforts of Rep. Palm and supporters of this bill, the Senate seemed unwilling to engage in a protracted and meaningful discussion of climate change at this time. It seems to me that voters need to ask, if not now, when? We have a responsibility to take action on what science so clearly demonstrates, that our earth is in peril.

Rep. Palm has shown courageous leadership in her attempt to open this discussion despite partisan resistance. In her wisdom, she understands the importance of educating our young about what perhaps is the greatest challenge of their lifetime. I commend her for her enlightened leadership and urge her to continue these efforts in the next legislative session.

Claire M. Walsh

Deep River