OPINION

Which part of summer are you most excited about?

Results tallied from EBS Facebook poll, April 16-21.

“Rafting. Floating out on the Yellowstone River, when the oars hit the water and you cast a line in and hope for a brown. To me there’s nothing like being out on the river.” Tyler Hough Paradise Valley, Montana

Letters to the Editor:

BSSD vote could increase staff pay

To the Editor:

Greetings from the Big Sky School District superintendent. As the spring election cycle in Montana is now upon us, the school district has a levy for voter consideration.

This year, the school district is seeking the passage of an operational levy of $75,000 tied directly to staff increases in compensation. As a public school in the state of Montana, the trustees and administration work diligently to budget each and every dollar with the goal of providing the best education for the children of our community, as such, teacher and staff salaries are an important aspect of our yearly budget.

As the tax base in our community grows, the value of our mills increases and the $75,000 request is an exact increase of 1.97 mills. In dollars and cents, this equates to a per-year tax increase of $13.30 on a home with a value $500,000; a per-year tax increase of $26.60 on a home with a value of $1,000,000.

The timeline for election 2021 is as follows:

• Ballots were mailed between April 14 and April 19. • Ballots are due to the Gallatin County Election Office by 8 p.m. on or before May 4.

Op-Ed:

C2H2: The new climate report

To the Editor:

Though many are unaware or disbelieving, Montanans, like people everywhere, are already feeling the impacts of climate change. Many of those come in the form of detrimental impacts on our health.

Following information presented in the original Montana Climate Assessment in 2017, the recently released C2H2 report, short for “Climate Change and Human Health in Montana: A Special Report of the Montana Climate Assessment,” analyzed evidence from a wide range of sources. Key findings include that the areas of greatest concern for climate impacts in Montana are increased temperatures and periods of extreme heat, worsening air quality, primarily from wildfires, and more frequent climate surprises, such as flooding and extreme weather events.

The report details direct connections between climate and health, such as the association of heat stroke and dehydration in higher temperatures, or increased risks of asthma attacks, even premature births, heart attacks and strokes from worsening air quality.

More subtle, but no less important, are links between both warmer temperatures and drought to decreased crop productivity and lowered nutritional content of grains. Perhaps least recognized by many are the connections between higher temperatures with increased mental health issues, including depression, domestic violence and suicide.

In addition to the extensive supportive evidence cited in the C2H2 report, one of its greatest strengths lies in the diverse recommendations it contains for addressing climate change. These include actions for individuals, healthcare professionals, organizations and elected officials.

The first step in each is to acknowledge that climate change is a problem. This Earth Day let’s start talking about solutions.