You have heard the story about how Emperor Nero fiddled while Rome burned. Now President Trump fiddles while the world burns. 

Written by David M. Grochmal, Virginia Beach, Virginia

Even with all the evidence, he does not believe that climate change is caused by burning fossil fuels. He thinks it’s just historical weather cycles. He views strict climate regulations as economic burdens that kill jobs and penalize American manufacturing. He believes that multilateral environmental agreements unfairly compromise American sovereignty and place financial burdens on the United States. Because of this, he withdrew from the Paris Climate Accord; he boycotts global climate summits; he repealed the 2009 EPA endangerment finding that greenhouse gases pose a threat to public health; he weakened vehicle and power plant emission requirements, and he has halted many offshore wind projects. 

Other countries subsidize renewable energy while Trump subsidizes oil and gas. As we all know, the Roman Empire did collapse, and if Trump’s indifference to climate change continues, this country will surely be weakened. We need leaders who will listen to science and not ignore it. I will vote for a change in leadership in November 2026 and in 2028.

Submitted to the Virginian-Pilot in August, 2026