At a recent village of Fredonia trustee meeting, I attempted to share the findings of the most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report that makes clear humanity’s actions on the climate crisis today have the potential to fundamentally reshape the planet for thousands of years.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change. It was created in 1988 and is made up of hundreds of leading scientists from around the world. They provide regular assessments of the scientific basis of climate change, its impacts and future risks, and options for adaptation and mitigation. The most recent report, based on the analysis of more than 14,000 studies, is the clearest and most comprehensive summary yet of the physical science of climate change.

I will not go into the details of the report, but rather highly recommend that all read the report or at least a good summary of the findings, widely available on line from some reputable groups such as the Nature Conservancy, NY Times, PBS, NASA and World Wildlife Fund.

The report basically confirms the temperature of our planet is rising at an alarming rate. Human activities such as burning of fossil fuels and cutting down of rainforests are to blame. Extreme weather events such as the catastrophic snow in California and the severe drought in several countries in Africa are directly linked to the change in climate. The weather events will only become more common and much more severe as we continue to dump carbon dioxide into our atmosphere. Those living in developing countries who have contributed the least to the climate crisis, are disproportionately affected. The one that hits me the hardest is the realization that a child born now is likely to suffer, on average, several times as many climate-extreme events in their lifetime as their grandparents did.

What kind of world are we leaving to our children and grandchildren?

However, even given all the dire warnings the report offers hope if we take action now to reduce the amount of carbon being released into our atmosphere. This would require industrialized nations to join together with a real commitment to limit the amount of carbon released.

Locally there are opportunities for growth and progress for our communities here to address climate change in very real ways. In New York there is the Climate Leadership and Protection Act that provides opportunities for individuals as well as communities to move toward green energy. Money and resources are available through numerous grants for the purpose of promoting green energy.

Perhaps the village, along with other communities, and maybe even countywide, should establish a climate crisis study group that would provide recommendations as well as funding sources to implement the changes.

It is beyond time that we take the change in the climate as a very real, very dangerous threat to our planet and all who call her home. In the movie Don’t Look Up there is an asteroid headed straight towards our earth. Scientists in the movie attempt in every way to draw attention and action to stop it from hitting the earth. Their pleas go unheard, as people prefer just to not look up….ignore it. I pray that we do not ignore the call for us to take action.

I pray that we can put down any partisanship and truly work together to address this issue. Don’t be afraid. Look up … and then take action.

Judi Lutz Woods is a member of the Climate Reality Project and is a Fredonia resident.