If you live in the OPPD service area here’s a simple but important action we really all should take.

From now until May 16 the OPPD Board is soliciting public comments on adding language to its Strategic Directive 7. The strategic directives are guidelines directing the functions and operations of the utility such as achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050. The added language is this one sentence: “The OPPD Board of Directors recognizes the scientific consensus that climate change is occurring and that greenhouse gas emissions, including carbon dioxide, from human activity contribute to climate change impacts.”

You wouldn’t think that recognizing scientific consensus would be controversial but it seems like everything is these days. So kudos to the OPPD Board for seeking public input and providing a forum for both “de-carbers” and de-niers”. Indeed it’s almost more entertaining to read the latter, up to a point anyway as they tend to be verbose. Unlike a lot of the national polls and petitions and click-activism that is so prevalent, this is close quarters representation involving both sides of the issue and so it’s important to make our voices heard.

To get to the Community Connects page at OPPD go here. You can browse the area and other comments without obligation but to leave a comment there is a simple name and password registration.

For a little more background Nancy Gaarder had a recent story about this in the Omaha World-Hearld last Monday (4/19).