Chris Hoffman, Denver Post, July 15th, 2026

“Exxon Summer” is here. As forest fires, extreme heat, and health harms, it is here because climate pollution is overheating our planet. Climate change-driven droughts and extreme heat events increase the drying of organic matter in forests, the material that burns and spreads wildfire. The burning of fossil fuels is the primary cause of climate change. Petroleum producers profit while we pay the costs. To protect the people, the communities, and the nature we love, we must smoothly accelerate the current move to cleaner, more affordable and more reliable energy solutions. The saying about planting trees applies to acting on climate change as well: The best time to do it was 20 years ago; the second-best time is now. Later is too late.

Chris Hoffman, Boulder