Letters to the Editor: Climate change means we’ll lose coastal treasures like Wayfarers Chapel

To the editor: You quoted the Rev. Dave Brown of the imperiled Wayfarers Chapel in Rancho Palos Verdes as saying, “We don’t know how long the landslide and the movement is going to continue.”

Oh, oh, I think I know! It’s probably going to happen for as long as climate change continues to accelerate coastal erosion everywhere.

Scientists have been warning us for decades now, ticking off a list of catastrophic events in store for our species if we didn’t take even the most obvious steps of planting more trees, saving the trees we have or no longer emitting greenhouse gases wherever possible.

The majority of us hasn’t done these things. We complain to each other about how something needs to be done — apparently by somebody else — because many of those concerned are still buying and burning gasoline themselves.

Now, we’re suddenly aghast when coastal erosion and landslides are actually happening. Yes, I’m heartbroken at the likely loss of this beautiful landmark. I’ve been to Wayfarers Chapel — it’s stunning.

But in another year or two, stories like this will no longer be news, as reporters and citizens alike will become numb to countless properties and landmarks tumbling into the sea in places like Rancho Palos Verdes, Santa Barbara, Oceanside, Pacific Palisades, Monterey and many more.

Alan Holden, Long Beach