Lesa Schwartz - 10-24-2021 - Vohra is right on climate change

 Vohra is right on climate change

October 24, 2021

Interim Health Officer Dr. Rais Vohra deserves kudos for having the courage and concern for his community to speak out about climate change. This is a dire situation that scientists have conclusively established is attributable to human activity.

That climate change has become a partisan issue not only makes action difficult, but undermines the work already done by so many climate activists. President Biden’s inclusion of climate action in the reconciliation package should be passed by all our members of Congress.

Our Board of Supervisors should be applauding Dr Vohra’s actions, not condemning them; they should be supporting him and others speaking out about climate change and exhorting us to take action.

Lesa Schwartz, Fresno

https://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article255191232.html 

Matthew Armstrong - 10-10-2021 - Pointing out truth of climate change

 Letters to the editor of The Fresno Bee, 

Oct. 10, 2021

Pointing out truth of climate change

In your September 17 issue, Monica Vaughan’s article, “Fresno health officer says climate change is ‘global poisoning,’ calls for federal action” draws attention to the comments of Fresno County’s interim health officer Dr. Rais Vohra’s regarding climate change, health, and agriculture. I was pleased to see this included, as there is a longstanding argument that addressing climate change will “destroy the economy.”

This argument ignores the fact that ongoing health problems resulting from higher temperatures, as well as the loss of goods such as produce due to drought and unfavorable temperatures and the loss of services reliant on water and stable weather, are already damaging the economy, and will do so at a faster rate in the future.

Dr. Rais is right that the Valley is in particular danger, and continuing to stall action or dismiss risk will damage our health and destroy out economy. It is good to see a local official be willing to point to that truth.

Matthew Armstrong

https://www.fresnobee.com/article254807497.html

Ruth Afifi - 10-3-2021 - Climate change a health threat

October 3, 2021

Climate change a health threat

Recently Fresno County’s chief health officer discussed the dangers to health posed by climate change. As The Bee reported, Dr. Rais Vohra compared the challenges posed by climate change and COVID-19 and said: "Instead of one infectious agent that is now preventable with the vaccine, we will be dealing with dozens of hazards at once and many of them without easy solutions.”

Speaking at a press conference with the California Climate and Agriculture Network, Dr. Vohra expressed his hope that congressman Jim Costa will continue to support President Biden's Build Back Better Act, which will bring benefits to our area such as aid to public health departments, incentives to replace polluting farm equipment, and more renewable energy projects.

Regional programs like these will be an important part of the solution. However, it is also important to put a price on carbon, which will ensure that carbon emissions are reduced as fossil fuels are replaced by clean, renewable sources of energy. People can learn more about carbon pricing at this website: cclusa.org/white-house.

They can also easily send a message asking President Biden and their representative to support carbon pricing in the congressional budget reconciliation package now under consideration. 

Ruth Afifi

https://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article254666767.html