Editor,

Having heard from various news reports about the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025, I decided to get their book, “Mandate for Leadership: The Conservative Promise,” to see what they propose for “the next conservative Administration to govern at 12:00 noon, January 20, 2025.” The impact of this document could be substantial, especially in the areas of climate policy, women in society, diversity and public service.

Coming to terms with climate change has been a painfully slow process — science has known for over 50 years the causes of our warming planet and the steps necessary to slow its devastating effects. Unfortunately, the Mandate refers to climate policy as “environmental extremism.”

We need to ask ourselves: can we afford to continue down the path of heedlessly pouring greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and suffering the consequences of massive wildfires, parched agricultural lands, devastating hurricanes and dangerous summer heat waves?

In the Mandate, we read, “Conservatives should gratefully celebrate the greatest pro-family win in a generation: overturning Roe v. Wade.” Tellingly, the document makes no mention of the reproductive rights of women.

Where do we stand on the issue of abortion? Can we agree, on the one hand, that a fertilized egg is not the same as a child? Can we also agree that late-term abortion is not an acceptable practice? Can we agree that women must have a choice if and when to have babies? Can we agree that the best policy must strike a balance between the rights of a woman and the care of a fetus?

According to the Mandate, every federal piece of legislation should expunge all words referring to diversity, equity, inclusion, gender equality, abortion or reproductive rights.

We need to ask ourselves: Do we want to live in a society where non-binary or transgender people are stigmatized? Or do we want to acknowledge that every person deserves to be treated with dignity?

For their part, conservatives plan to conduct a massive layoff of public servants and replace them with political appointees. Career bureaucrats should be hired for their expertise, not their loyalty to a political party.

If you feel, as I do, that the 2025 Project must not succeed, we need to ensure that Donald Trump does not become president again. Please join me in supporting the Movement Voter Project (movement.vote) which invests in community efforts to get out the vote.

David Trowbridge

Greenbank