‘Rising Sea Seeping Into Coastal Plans’

I have just finished reading your article “Rising Sea Seeping Into Coastal Plans” (Aug. 15). The article has left me with a feeling of rage.

I find that Orange County has, since 1985, required developers to factor a sea-rise into their plans. During this same period, Orange County supervisors and city planners have also continued to push for more development and more miles of freeways.

Is there any consideration for the cause of the sea-rise? Is there any plan for paying for the relocation of the billion people who will lose their homes worldwide, not to mention the even more extensive loss of coastal and arctic ecosystems?

Who is at fault for this global warming trend? It is a sure thing that the inhabitants of the Marshall Islands are not putting carbon dioxide into the atmosphere at anything like the amounts for which we in Southern California are responsible.

A car driven a modest 12,000 miles at 30 miles per gallon releases five tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. It is estimated that the world ecosystem can only deal with a per capita release of two tons of CO2.

The average American is responsible for a release of about 18 tons of CO2. It is a certainty that given the average Southern Californian’s driving habits, our production of CO2 is far greater.

These driving habits are forced on us by the refusal of city and county planners and developers to consider other types of transportation and the kinds of development which are mandated by such transportation.

I had assumed that this refusal was out of ignorance of the long-term consequences of their actions. Now I find out that they are very aware of the consequences, but their awareness extends only to their own pocketbooks, not the billion people in the world affected by their policies.

KARL P. REITZ

Yorba Linda