Readers React: Another warm, dry winter: a sign of things to come?

To the editor: As I sip a cool drink on the patio and bask in these idyllic February days, I wonder: Do these warm, rainless days in usually the wettest month portend a scorching summer, another hottest year on record, a mega-drought lasting for decades? (“Southwest and Great Plains at risk of 21st century ‘mega-drought,’” Feb. 12)

Perhaps it is time to get serious about reducing our collective carbon footprint, to resolutely begin cutting our dependence on fossil fuel and to invest in Gov. Jerry Brown’s vision of 50% renewable energy by 2030.

John Wolfersberger, Upland

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To the editor: Covering the impacts and risks of climate change is an unprecedented moral responsibility for our greatest media sources. On Sunday, The Times fell short.

In the print edition, the story about the newly recognized risk of mega-drought from climate change was not only buried, it wasn’t even featured: The space for science coverage ceded to a story about popcorn.

If we do not have an informed public, we cannot generate the widespread support for the actions we must take if we are to have hope for a livable planet. The window for action is closing quickly. Now is not the time for journalistic timidity.

What message does this buried placement send to readers? This is a news item about scientific near-certainty of climate calamity if we don’t act now. Please reassess your editorial priorities.

Caryn Bosson, Ojai

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