Fresno CCL Letters to the Editor: February 2018

Monday, February 12, 2018

Don Gaede - February 2018, not published - China Peak snow

2-3-2018

Marek Warszowski’s article about the financial woes of China Peak demonstrates another way that climate change is going to be bad for business--especially the ski business. Climate scientists say this year’s snow no-show is likely to be part of long-term trend; they predict a 50% decline in Sierra snow pack by the end of the century.

Not surprisingly, climate change has been a top priority of America’s ski industry for at least 15 years. Their very existence depends on a cool climate.

The National Ski Areas Association website says “Climate change presents challenges to the ski industry that require proactive planning, bold action and leadership.” They advocate reducing the carbon emissions of their operations through energy efficiency, as well as legislation on climate change solutions. They also encourage skiers to ask their legislators to act to prevent climate change.

So I call on all skiers, snowboarders, snowmobilers, and other lovers of snow to contact Reps. Devin Nunes, David Valadao, and Jim Costa. Ask them to pass legislation now to help protect our winter snowpack, and help keep China Peak in business.

Don Gaede

Don Gaede - January 2018 - not published - Climate Change a Clear and Present Danger

1-14-2018

As Peter McDonald noted in his Jan. 12 letter, the cost of climate change is beginning to be felt, and as it turns out, it's not going to come cheap.

It is one thing to commit an error, but to do nothing when you know better—that’s just plain stupidity. Our nation’s best scientific institutions--NASA, the National Academy of Sciences, and the American College of Physicians--have given us fair warning about the threat of climate change. It is irresponsible and negligent for our congressional representatives to sit on their hands in the face of this threat.

Winston Churchill said, “I never worry about action, but only inaction.” Climate change, we know now, is a clear and present danger. We should be electing representatives who are not afraid to act, to protect both our bank accounts and our lives.

Don Gaede

Peter McDonald - Jan. 12, 2018 - Mudslides, fires are all symptoms of climate change

Mudslides, fires are all symptoms of climate change

January 12, 2018 02:43 PM

On Monday the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration published its 2017 figures on natural disasters in the United States, and reported that combined they cost us a whopping $306 billion, including close to $20 billion for the fires in the West, California most prominently.

These fires have claimed thousands of homes and 54 lives. Reputable evidence-based source make clear, climate change has exacerbated all these disasters.

If we get significant rains in California for 2018, news sources alert us to expect massive mudslides especially in hilly suburban counties in the south and around Santa Rosa.

And if this week's rain is just a drop in the bucket, and we enter another drought, we can expect in California, notably with hundreds of millions of dead trees in our forests as The Bee has reported, the same out-of-control fires again for the coming year.

Is it not high time for all our elected leaders, local, state and especially federal congressional delegates to answer these growing disasters with concrete mitigations to our warming climate? So far, too many congressmen from the Valley have been conspicuously silent or outright hostile to the established science of climate change. Write your leaders today!

Peter McDonald, Fresno

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article194442894.html#storylink=cpy

Ruth Afifi - January 2, 2018 - Trump climate change tweets leave her cold

Trump climate change tweets leave her cold

January 02, 2018 04:01 PM

Responding to this recent presidential tweet: “In the East, it could be the COLDEST New Year’s Eve on record. Perhaps we could use a little bit of that good old Global Warming that our Country, but not other countries, was going to pay TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS to protect against. Bundle up!”
These members of the House and Senate tweeted:

“1: This isn’t how climate change works. 2: We weren’t paying trillions of dollars. You didn’t understand the Paris Agreement in June and you still don’t. 3: Climate Change is real. It is a serious threat to our children. You need people on your team who can explain this to you.” (Don Beyer)
“Climate change is real and it poses a grave threat to our nation and our planet. It’s abundantly clear this Administration won’t tackle climate change head on, so state and local governments must.” (Kamala Harris)
And we can’t resist commenting in presidential style:
In the West, it could be the DRIEST New Year’s Eve on record. Perhaps we could use a little less of that good old Global Warming that our Country, and most other countries, are going to pay TRILLIONS OF DOLLARS to recover from. Pay up!

Ruth Afifi, Fresno

http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article192651519.html

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article192651519.html#storylink=cpy

Connie Young - Dec. 21, 2017 - Community Medical Centers stands up for community health

I was pleased to learn that Community Medical Centers has just approved a climate-change resolution, as described in a blog on its website (https://www.communitymedical.org
/about-us/Blog/December-2017

Having recently retired from CMC, I am very proud of my former employer for standing up for the health of our community. Reducing carbon emissions and addressing climate change will help clean up our air and thereby improve the health of our children, the elderly and those with respiratory and heart conditions.

Cleaner air and healthier people are just a few of the many benefits that will result from reducing carbon pollution.

Building on CMC's groundbreaking leadership, our region would greatly benefit from other social and educational institutions following its example by implementing their own climate change resolutions and responses.

CMC also supports efforts to urge national legislators to take action to adapt to and mitigate the effects of climate change. Representatives Jim Costa, Tom McClintock, Devin Nunes, and David Valadao will do well to heed the advice of this major employer and well-respected health care organization.

Connie Young, Fresno

http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article190868129.html

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article190868129.html#storylink=cpy

Peter McDonald - Sept. 22, 2017 - Citizens Climate Lobby seeks bipartisan solutions

Citizens Climate Lobby seeks bipartisan solutions

Massive storms and raging wildfires fill the news lately, much covered in The Bee. The connection of these disasters to climate change has also been reported. While there is no direct connection between any given natural disaster and global warming, all climate models show an increase and intensity in wildfires, hurricanes, droughts, floods and extreme weather events.

How heartening, then, to see Republican senators, and their counterparts in the House, joining the bipartisan climate solutions caucus, including conservative stalwart Sen. Lindsey Graham. What’s brought these disparate lawmakers together is a carbon-reduction program of tax and dividend put forward by former secretaries of state James Baker and George Shultz and former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson, under the aegis of the Citizens Climate Lobby. A simple Google search will inform anyone on the details of the program.

Given our watershed in the Sierra Nevada is under visible siege by drought and massive tree die-offs, the deleterious impact climate uncertainty will have on agriculture in the Valley suggests that Reps. Jim Costa, Devin Nunes, Jeff Denham, David Valadao and Tom McClintock join their bipartisan caucus colleagues to find creative ways to ensure that the economic and social fabric of our Valley remains strong into the future.

Peter McDonald, Fresno

http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article174690296.html

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article174690296.html#storylink=cpy

Bruce Ratcliffe - Sept. 6 2017 - Don’t like tax hikes? Slow global warming

Don’t like tax hikes? Slow global warming

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott recently stated that the cleanup cost for Hurricane Harvey will exceed the $120 billion it took for Hurricane Katrina. President Trump has magnanimously offered to donate $1 million. That leaves $119.999 billion to go. Where will the rest come from?

You. Yes, Mr./Ms. US Taxpayer, you will pay for this hidden tax hike. Republicans hate tax hikes, calling it “government interference They oppose raising vehicle fuel-efficiency standards. The Trump administration is considering lower fuel-efficiency targets for the auto industry. Higher fuel efficiency standards mean new cars and trucks may cost $4,000 more. Can you say, “No new taxes”?

Actually, raising fuel-economy standards to 40 mpg over the next 10 years will save consumers $12 billion annually. (The increased vehicle cost is paid for in fuel savings.)

Yes, you read that right. So here Americans are, paying $120 billion to clean up the record-breaking worst single-storm rainfall disaster in U.S. history, as we continue pumping CO2 into the atmosphere, making global climate change (and more climate disasters) inevitable

Say you don’t like being taxed to clean up climate disasters? Brilliant idea: raise fuel-efficiency standards, burn less gas, slow global warming, and save $12 billion a year.

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article171434142.html#storylink=cpy

Bruce Ratcliff
Fresno

http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article171434142.html

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article171434142.html#storylink=cpy

Devin Carroll - Not published - Climate Cooling Predictions

September 2017
Submitted to Fresno Bee, not published

We see statements that scientists in the 1970s predicted Earth would cool, so we should not trust scientists today who say Earth will continue warming.

Yes, some scientists did predict cooling due to industrial aerosols reflecting incoming light. But this was not a consensus. The National Academy of Scientists said “We do not have a good quantitative understanding of our climate machine … It does not seem possible to predict climate.”

Even in the 1970s, six times as many science papers predicted warming as cooling.

Today we have many more and better weather satellites, vastly greater computer modeling power, and 40 more years of research.

Now NAS says we have “strong evidence that significant global warming is occurring... It is likely that most of the warming in recent decades can be attributed to human activities... The scientific understanding of climate change is now sufficiently clear to justify nations taking prompt action.”

The aerosol scientists were not wrong. Aerosols do reflect some sun rays. Models using increasing greenhouse gases predict too much warming if they ignore aerosols. Professional climate deniers criticize these incomplete models for inaccuracy, without mentioning the aerosol correction. That is deliberate deception.

Devin Carroll