Who deserves praise and criticism this week in Northern Utah?

THUMBS DOWN: The U.N. Climate Report on global warming released Monday, culminating in the work of 91 scientists from 40 countries, paints a dire picture for the world, which we urge Utah’s public servants and decision makers to not ignore or procrastinate about.

“This report gives policymakers and practitioners the information they need to make decisions that tackle climate change while considering local context and people’s needs. The next few years are probably the most important in our history,” said Debra Roberts, co-chair of IPCC Working Group II, in a press release. America’s leaders now have data and facts to base future decisions on how we monitor and regulate human-caused emissions of carbon dioxide.

Our actions have consequences and our hearts weigh heavy at the prospect of more wildfires ravaging Utah’s landscapes and threatening more of its towns. Our water, air and land are most precious, and at the root of so much that defines our state.

“The good news is that some of the kinds of actions that would be needed to limit global warming … are already underway around the world, but they would need to accelerate,” said Valerie Masson-Delmotte, co-chair of Working Group I of the report, in a press release.

THUMBS UP: God bless people’s affinity for cereal. Hundreds of people are waiting in line this morning to stock up on extra cereal at Post, being sold for $1 each to benefit United Way of Northern Utah. Post’s ongoing generosity is a benefit to programs in our area. Just think of how the poor and needy in our community could find even more resources and tools if we always donated money every time we ate something sugary.

THUMBS DOWN: While we’re sure it’s difficult to clean up after the constant crashes on Interstate 15 each week, it surely cannot help prevent future incidents and traffic backups to have shoulders completely littered with stretches of broken glass and sharp objects. At that point, UDOT failing to get it cleaned up is just asking for reoccurring incidents, which we hardly need more of.

THUMBS DOWN: School threats are taken seriously, and those calling in or making fake threats should be and are treated as if they were real. Such was the case this week at Capstone Classical Academy. While police fortunately found no evidence of an active shooter, it caused subsequent disruptions in education with lockouts. Youth and adults alike making threats should be leveled with consequences as serious as their actions suggest, otherwise we are not seriously deterring this behavior.

THUMBS UP: Thank you to the Utah Debate Commission for scheduling events and debates with the purpose of providing more information to Utah’s voters. Utahns were able to witness the debate between U.S. Senate candidates Jenny Wilson and Mitt Romney this week and can expect to see a debate from 6 to 7 p.m. Wednesday broadcast from Logan between 1st Congressional District candidates. If you have not obtained tickets to view it live, you can watch it streamed at www.utahdebatecomission.org.

THUMBS DOWN: While good intentions abound, the social media fast for women of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints falls at a crucial time when local elections are in the heat of importance, as ballots have been prepared, and even sent, leading up to Election Day on Nov. 6. Many campaigns in today’s world use social media and digital news to communicate their stances on issues, election deadlines and other important information. We urge all voters to still pay attention to the state House races, and U.S. Congressional and Senate races, as well as researching the various questions and propositions, as they have direct and far-reaching impacts on your families’ lives.

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