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Debora Hoffman

Using my voice to raise the alarm and incite action on climate change. 

The Philadelphia Inquirer •

Philadelphia Inquirer letter to the editor

We know that the oil and gas industry will always act in their own best interests and not the interests of the country or the world. It’s clear that their outsize donations to Republican candidates are to ensure that they will be able to continue polluting without penalty. And using liquified natural gas as a wedge issue is cynical. The problem with liquified natural gas is the same as with natural gas itself: leaks along every stage of production release methane, a far worse greenhouse gas than CO2.

The oil and gas industry has decades of experience providing energy to fuel our economy. Imagine if they used that expertise and financing to develop and promote clean energy. Yet, Republican candidates will ensure that we continue to boost this lethal energy sector and continue along with business as usual. This path is unsustainable for us and our planet.
Lowell Sun •

Biden Will Take Climate Change Seriously: Lowell Sun letter to the editor

For every presidential election, there are always a multitude of issues voters must consider when deciding who to vote for. To me, there’s one issue that rises above all others this year: climate change. According to the UN Climate Chief, we have two years to save the planet. Two years to stop burning fossil fuels. Two years to fully transition to a clean energy economy. Two years to curb fossil fuel pollution.

This poll shows that nearly half of Americans thought Trump’s presidency hurt us on climate change. We are already living through the impacts of global warming: erratic weather patterns, wildfires, floods, loss of biodiversity, and ongoing pollution. Climate change is no longer some distant threat, but a current crisis. Unlike Trump, Biden’s administration supports policies prioritizing the climate crisis, supporting the transition to clean energy, rejoining the Paris accord, and targeting net zero emissions.

These shouldn’t be footnotes, they should be headlines. The long-term cost of ignoring climate change will outweigh any short-term economic or political turmoil we currently face. This year’s election is a binary choice and Joe Biden is the only one who will take action on climate change seriously.
The Boston Globe •

What if homicide case could make Big Oil be part of the solution? Boston Globe letter to the editor

The idea of charging fossil fuel companies with homicide is intriguing (“It’s time to charge oil companies with homicide,” Ideas, March 17). Aaron Regunberg and David Arkush begin by quoting an attorney for a tobacco company who feared that the industry could be held responsible for the deaths of its customers. There is no doubt that Big Oil has caused irreparable harm to people, the environment, the planet, and the climate. The companies know their products are inherently dangerous. And that ham has led to human deaths through the extreme weather events that we’ve all become accustomed to. It’s a logical conclusion to charge these companies with homicide.

In the Big Tobacco example, it may have been the threat of criminal charges for homicide that led to the settlement of the civil litigation against it. If bringing homicide charges against Big Oil can be a similar incentive to push fossil fuel companies to shift away from drilling and to transforming to clean energy sources, then by all means, this tool should be used.

Our goal should be hastening the transition from our dirty, polluting energy sources to an economy powered by renewable and safe sources. Getting Big Oil to buy into this effort could dramatically speed this process.
The Sun Chronicle •

Wind power is a tool we in New England should use: Sun Chronicle letter to the editor

The Vineyard Wind milestone should be celebrated -- and replicated up and down the East Coast.

Offshore wind energy is a powerful tool in our toolbox when it comes to protecting our health from harmful air pollution and reducing our carbon emissions. We can’t get to net zero emissions without it.

We are in the midst of a clean energy revolution and this is how we combat climate change. Let your local officials know that you support offshore wind power.
Lowell Sun •

Greenland's Ice Sheet Collapse: Lowell Sun letter to the editor

Your article about what would happen if and when Greenland’s ice sheet collapses and how that would affect the AMOC ocean current highlights several climate change dangers. One, the effects of climate change are happening faster than we had previously anticipated. We’re already living with its early impacts: huge storms, droughts, wildfires, and extreme temperatures. This latest study projects the ice sheet’s collapse in decades, but that timeline could speed up. Two, the impact of the AMOC collapse would mean significantly colder temperatures in Europe. It’s important to remember that climate change is not only hotter temperatures, but more extreme temperatures both hot and cold. And three, an AMOC collapse would bring about more displacement of huge numbers of people in search of food, water, and a safe place to live. Migration is already a big issue; this would make it worse.

We all have the ability to advocate for policies to slow or stop our deadly habit of burning fossil fuels. Amplify your voice and join a climate action group like 350.org, Mothers Out Front, or Elders Climate Action. We ignore the science at our peril.
Sentinal and Enterprise •

COP 28 Takeaways: Sentinel and Enterprise letter to the editor

This year’s COP delivered a needed boost to those working to stem the worst effects of climate change: an agreement to transition away from fossil fuels. It’s not a panacea, but it’s not nothing, either.

Yet I wish I had the hope and optimism that Wil Darcangelo expresses in his (Dec. 16) piece. Yes, we humans are capable of change, but it’s hard to see how our entrenched fossil fuel addiction will be cured anytime soon. His examples of changed social mores around smoking and littering apply to Americans, not the entire planet – and it’s the entire planet that needs to be in on this critical transition right now.

Of particular concern is that, for decades, the largest driver in the growth of carbon emissions has been developing countries. It’s the responsibility of countries like the United States to speed the transition not only in our country, but in these developing countries as well.

Darcangelo is convinced that we will evolve into a more just, loving, and environmentally sane species. I’m not sure I agree with him, but I also fervently hope that he is right. We as individuals can help heal the world of our fossil fuel addiction by supporting the clean energy transition in ways both big and small. I urge everyone to check out a climate action group like 350.org, Elders Climate Action, or Third Act and get involved.
The Sun Chronicle •

Greed and short-sightedness of fuel industry is evident: Sun Chronicle letter to the editor

Your article about the recent offshore oil and gas lease sales once again highlights the alarming short-sightedness and greed of the fossil fuel industry.

Oil and gas representatives are quoted as saying that their industry is “forward-thinking” and that the oil and gas industry “is investing in the nation’s long-term energy security.”

Here’s a message to the oil and gas CEOs: Just stop.

Your industry isn’t “forward-thinking.” If it were, it would be pivoting quickly to develop clean energy alternatives instead of drilling for and promoting products that are actively harming our health and communities.

And no, your industry is not investing in the nation’s long-term energy security. There is no security in greenhouse gas emissions which are destroying our climate and regularly impacting our lives with dangerous storms, hotter temperatures, wildfires, and loss of species and habitat.

We need everyone, especially oil and gas executives, to hop aboard the clean energy transition express.
The Boston Globe •

Countries need to be halted from overshooting climate targets: Boston Globe letter to the editor

What is wrong with us? We’re already suffering the effects of global warming in the form of heat waves, droughts, monster storms, wildfires, loss of species, and ocean warming. According to recent research, huge parts of Earth are likely to be uninhabitable because of climate change. We know the cause: Our burning of fossil fuels warms the climate by creating greenhouse gases. And we have the technology to solve it: wind, solar, battery storage, modern nuclear. Yet countries like the United States, Russia, and Saudi Arabia plan to continue oil and gas drilling for the foreseeable future, putting us on track for overshooting our 2030 fossil fuel targets by 69 percent.

Enabling and promoting more fossil fuel extraction pollutes our environment and is bad policy. It must be halted. Clean energy is now cheaper than oil and gas and is the fastest-growing energy source in this country. It is also our only chance at a future.

Debora Hoffman

Belmont
Gloucester Daily Times •

Kudos for climate podcast: Gloucester Daily Times letter to the editor

Kudos to Gloucester for stepping up as a climate champion — we need more cities and towns to follow suit. And extra credit for recognizing that communicating to residents about climate efforts and actions is every bit as important as taking the necessary steps to decarbonize.

The podcast series (“Gloucester’s climate change journey, one podcast at a time,” Times, published Oct. 17 online and in print) is part of the city’s overall effort to lower its carbon footprint and providing accessible storytelling is a way to keep interest high and momentum going.

Individuals listening will learn not only what the city and its activists are doing, but what they as individuals can do. This is a time when we all need to be pulling in the same direction and Gloucester’s new podcast is one step in that effort.
The Sun Chronicle •

Piece offered faulty argument regarding climate change: Sun Chronicle letter to the editor

Re: “No need to panic on climate change,” by Bjorn Lomborg, Point/Counterpoint, Opinion, Sept. 15:

Bjorn Lomborg’s piece “No Need to Panic on Climate Change,” offered a faulty argument that warmer temperatures will mean fewer deaths than cold temperatures and therefore global warming is simply something to be managed with air conditioning, green spaces and water.

Climate change isn’t limited to hot temperatures, and human deaths aren’t the only way to measure its effects. Increased global temperatures cause warmer and more acidic oceans, which threatens coral, causes sea level rise, and changes ocean currents. Warmer temperatures mean more frequent and severe weather, causing both prolonged droughts and monster storms. Fisheries, livestock and farming are all threatened by rising global temperatures, severely impacting food supplies. A warmer planet means more tropical diseases like malaria in more regions. Higher temperatures cause population displacement as areas of the planet become uninhabitable. Simply put, every aspect of life on the planet is impacted by human-caused global warming.

We are spewing carbon dioxide into our atmosphere beyond its capacity to absorb it. Instead of resisting the alarming narrative around climate change, as the author suggests, we must stop burning fossil fuels and pivot quickly to a clean energy economy.