Readers React: Don’t let this crazy news week distract you: Climate change is still the biggest story

To the editor: All the articles in the Los Angeles Times this week — on Senate hearings, the Supreme Court, the #MeToo movement and more — pale in importance next to the editorial, “As global warming continues, Trump wants to burn fossil fuels with an arsonist’s glee.”

A massive global effort is needed to change how we create energy. Instead, the Trump administration chooses to lead us toward oblivion with its energy policies.

The days of “turn off the water when you brush your teeth,” “recycle” and “bring your own coffee cup” are no longer sufficient. Everything from banning plastic straws to taking the (electric) bus, to supporting green candidates, to lobbying for a carbon tax, to joining international climate groups is needed to avert this looming disaster.

Preventing a climate crisis must be top priority for everyone, including ordinary folks, journalists and civic leaders. Let us not be distracted.

Margaret Baker Davis, La Verne

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To the editor: The Times Editorial Board correctly identifies the need for clean energy but does not mention the other ways to reverse climate change (reduce global population, reduce consumption and restore ecosystems, to name a few).

Nonetheless, to keep people from feeling hopeless, here are some positive visions of a sustainable future:

• Arid regions cultivate solar energy farms, and internationally leased oceanic wind farms generate hydrogen for collection and use in fuel cells.
• International exchange markets for carbon and biodiversity established through treaties generate beneficial economic activity, while global population declines (due to increasing levels of education worldwide).
• In our cities, residential areas are denser, car ownership is rare and urban forestry is pursued; as a result, consumption is reduced and quality of life is improved.

What would it take to make this happen? Only our say-so.

Ed Salisbury, Santa Monica

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To the editor: Your editorial was spot on. The Trump administration’s ignorance on climate change is astounding.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has admitted that its rollback of coal emission regulations may cause up to 1,400 premature deaths annually. Guess that’s the price to keep votes.

Eileen Elvins, Dana Point

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