Why the California wildfires have this Kansas City mom worried about her kids’ future | Opinion
I’m a Kansas Citian and a mom of two young kids. The Los Angeles wildfires have kept me up at night, fearing for my children’s futures.
Like parents across our metropolitan area and the rest of the country, I have felt helpless watching thousands of families displaced and homes burn in L.A.’s most destructive wildfire ever — a fire big enough to destroy entire Kansas City communities. This disaster comes just months after Hurricane Helene’s unprecedented destruction in Asheville, North Carolina, as the frequency of unprecedented events linked to climate change continues to increase.
While California and North Carolina may feel far away, Kansas City is being warned of increased risks of our own: summers with multiple weeks that exceed 105, putting lives at risk and straining infrastructure, along with increased risk of flooding, drought, severe storms and tornadoes.
Like many, I feel limited in what I can do right now beyond donating and sharing information, but I am determined to prevent tragedies like this one from happening in the future. While we can’t bring back those who lost their lives, and opportunities for federal action on climate change look bleak, there are meaningful actions we can take right now in Kansas City that can make a big difference in our contribution to climate change.
One of the most impactful actions we can currently take in Kansas City would be closing Evergy’s Hawthorn coal-fired power plant. The plant burns more than 1 million tons of coal every year — 3.5 times the weight of New York City’s Empire State Building — releasing millions of tons of carbon dioxide and polluting our air.
Closing the plant would bring immediate relief from air pollution for the northeast and East Side communities closest to the plant, currently burdened with an estimated five deaths and numerous asthma attacks each year because of plant emissions. It would also bring Kansas City significantly closer to its goal of being carbon-neutral by 2040.
Closing the Hawthorn Power Plant isn’t a new idea. In 2022, the City Council adopted the Climate Protection and Resiliency Plan, urging Evergy to shutter the plant by 2025. Local leaders recognized that meaningful climate action in Kansas City depends on Evergy’s commitment to stop polluting. Despite these calls and increasing climate-driven destruction, Evergy President and CEO David Campbell has ignored these demands and has made no plans to close the plant.
The good news is we can make a difference—both now and for generations to come. If you can, please donate to help LA families, and join me in urging Evergy CEO, David Campbell, to close Hawthorn by 2025. Shareholder profits and Campbell’s $7 million annual salary should never be put ahead of our children’s futures.
It is time that we stand up and show that Missouri can’t be bought, and the $125,000 Evergy donated to the incoming Missouri governor’s campaign — the very same governor who will appoint members to Evergy’s regulator — will not buy the company favors.
There are many ways to act. Sign a petition — here’s one among many. Attend Kansas City’s upcoming climate summit. Share news articles, or write one of your own. Speak out on this issue with your friends and family and encourage your leaders to take a stand.
Every action matters. We need as many voices as possible for Evergy to listen.
Joining in action together, we can make this the turning point — the moment Kansas City stepped up, stopped watching the world burn and took decisive action to secure a livable planet for our children and future generations.