Voices

Carnival should have passed on burning torch tradition

BRATTLEBORO — Appalling to find a burning torch at the top of Main Street in Brattleboro, in celebration of Winter Carnival week! Burning fossil fuel for looks-ism is a questionable choice in the face of the climate crisis emergency.

Apparently the town manager, Selectboard, and Town Meeting members do not believe the climate crisis is an emergency! It most certainly is, folks! It truly is real. Forests are still burning in Australia, following the Amazon and California fires, and land masses in western Africa are sliding beneath the rising seas, eliminating whole villages.

What is with Vermonters denying that the climate crisis is real and now? This means all efforts and creative thinking should logically be aiming at reducing fuel usage to reduce atmospheric CO2, which might mean foregoing a burning torch despite playful tradition.

Climate crisis is about the future sustainability of life on Earth! Don't you think you can give up a lonely burning torch in an effort to begin responding to “the house on fire” emergency that threatens all life for all time?

What will it take for Brattleboro decision-makers to take this emergency seriously? Wake up, people!

In hopes for a future beyond 10 years,

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