Mailbag: Today’s heroes work in supermarkets

I don’t know about you all, but I am so grateful for first responders, who typically include paramedics, nurses, police officers, firefighters, rescuers, military personnel, doctors and everyone who works in hospitals.

We should also include the everyday heroes who work in our markets.

They work each day with the food that we rely on, and they hear the stories, both good and bad, that we have to tell.

They stand on their feet sometimes more than eight hours, and they risk their health the entire time.

And here’s the best: They do it with incredible cheer, help and kindness.

It would fantastic if when you go to these stores you give them a quick smile and an acknowledgment of the truly hard job they do.

This is where your everyday first responders work for us.

Sandy Asper
Newport Beach

We’re living with an even bigger threat

As frightening, disruptive and deadly as the coronavirus is, it will be a temporary scourge. Eventually scientists will develop a vaccine.

Looming in the background is global warming, a slower-moving catastrophe that will disrupt and imperil our lives for generations.

In dealing with coronavirus we have learned four things that should inform and guide action on the climate crisis.

First, listen to scientists and experts; scientific ignorance can be fatal. Because the Trump administration belittles and neglects science, action on climate has been thwarted, and now the fight against coronavirus is being bungled.

Second, be proactive. Climate impacts have been building for decades. They will only get worse. The time to act is now.

Third, declare an emergency. We can’t count on individual voluntary actions. In an emergency people take things seriously and will support bold, systemic solutions.

Fourth, never lose sight of what matters most: the health, safety and welfare of our family, our friends, and ultimately all human beings.

Bob Taylor
Newport Beach

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