Hot under the collar

Re “Cooling off costs too much,” Opinion, Feb. 8

By what calculus does Jonah Goldberg arrive at his conclusion? It’s a bit insulting to one’s intelligence that the cost of mitigating global warming can be derived from dividing the increase in global temperature over the last century by the increase in global GDP. His logic implies that doing nothing concerning global warming maximizes GDP, while pulling all the stops to mitigate global warming effectively results in zero GDP growth.

Global warming is real and deserves thoughtful opinions, not the stuff of Goldberg’s commentary.

SCOTT FRANKLIN

La Jolla

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Goldberg just doesn’t get it. He argues that we can’t afford to do much about climate change, which he says is over-hyped by wild-eyed tree-huggers like Al Gore. His solution? Maybe something will turn up.

How long are we supposed to wait around for some magic solution to appear? Will the water have to be lapping at Goldberg’s toes before he will acknowledge that there might be a problem here?

Although it is true that the Kyoto Protocol is not a real remedy, every journey must have a beginning. Global warming is a threat not just to our way of life but to life itself. Naysayers such as Goldberg should not deter us from taking action.

JIM WILLIAMS

Park Falls, Wis.