I was recently reminded of Robert Frost’s famous poem “The Road Not Taken” when I watched the new David Attenborough film “A Life on Our Planet.” It shows very clearly that we’re at a point when we must choose which road to travel when it comes to climate change.

If we keep going down the current, well-traveled road, our future is bleak. A child born now would live to see the rate of climate change accelerate, which in turn would bring about mass extinction. That child might even be one of the millions of climate refugees as much of the world becomes inhabitable.

Fortunately, that’s not the only road open to us. Some countries are already venturing down less-traveled roads with promising results.

The Netherlands is producing more food with fewer resources. No-fishing zones in Palau, a Pacific Island nation, prove that coral reefs and fish populations can recover. Costa Rica has shown how to encourage reforestation.

These are all encouraging stories, and to make them more widespread, we need governments to take action, especially in the U.S., since we generate a disproportionate amount of carbon emissions.

The results of this election will take us down one or other of these paths, and we won’t get a second chance. As Attenborough pointed out, we’re going through “a series of one-way doors.”

So let’s act while we can. Let’s follow Robert Frost’s lead and vote for those who will choose the road less traveled.

It will make all the difference.

Erica L. Bartlett
Portland

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