Matt Armstrong - September 15, 2016 - We ignore climate change at our peril

We ignore climate change at our peril

As I headed up toward the Goose Fire to help with protection and repair efforts, I found myself thinking about the sharp increase in forest fires in recent years, the climate-related factors that are lengthening and worsening California’s fire seasons, and how much this all costs.

When pundits talk of the allegedly high costs of avoiding climate change, they never seem to mention the costs of not preventing it. 

There are the costs associated with fighting fires, repairing infrastructure, sheltering people made homeless, and hours lost to other work because people such as my colleagues and me (not dedicated to work on disasters, but instead have other jobs) are having to monitor climate-impacted disasters like fires and floods. 

More importantly, the human cost – in homes lost, lives disrupted, and stress endured by those who have to respond – is never considered. Yet, these are all costs that must be counted.

I will continue to monitor the fires, to wait for my other work to be disrupted so that I can respond, and to count the costs that others refuse to because that has become a part of my job. It has to be someone’s.

Matt Armstrong, Fresno
 http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article101881092.html

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Ruth Afifi - August 2016 unpublished - Senate Bill 32

The California Assembly recently approved Senate Bill 32, which extends until 2030 the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006 signed by Governor Schwarzenegger. SB 32 will continue to support "climate smart" agriculture as well as energy efficiency, renewables, and other ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. 

Without extension of this law, the future for such programs as the Healthy Soils Initiative, the State Water Efficiency and Enhancement Program, the Sustainable Agricultural Lands Conservation Program, and the Dairy Methane Program was in doubt-- all important programs for farmers in Fresno County and the Central Valley.

Another historic piece of climate legislation, Assembly Joint Resolution 43, was recently passed by our California legislature.  It asks Congress to place a fee on carbon fuels and return the money to U.S. households.  Similar policies in British Columbia and elsewhere have shown that a “revenue-neutral” program encourages individuals and businesses to adopt cleaner energy use. 

Regrettably, neither of my Republican representatives in the California Senate or Assembly voted for either bill.  I look forward to the day when climate change legislation can again be a bipartisan achievement.

Ruth Afifi

August 2016

unpublished

Don Gaede - August 19, 2016 - Make them pay: Oil, coal companies turn air into a toilet bowl.

Make them pay: Oil, coal companies turn air into a toilet bowl 

Russell Harland (letter Aug. 12) says he doesn’t like taxing energy. “Taxing anything to support something else is subsidization.”

I agree. Any form of energy subsidy should be phased out. But right now, according to the International Monetary Fund, the worldwide oil industry is being subsidized to the tune of almost $3 trillion per year.
 
Much of this subsidy is due to the fact that these rich oil producers don’t have to pay a red cent for all the damages their products are causing. Instead, these damages are being paid by all of us poor schmucks, in the form of polluted air, overheated climate and flooding coasts.

It’s a matter of fairness. Oil and coal companies shouldn’t be able to use the air we breathe as a toilet bowl for their emissions. Put a fee on carbon, and give that money back to us, where it belongs. That money could be in the form of a monthly check, and or as a tax credit.

Level the playing field for clean energy versus dirty energy. Then clean energy – hydro, solar, wind – will have a fair chance to win.

Don Gaede, Fresno
August 19, 2016

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article96249992.html#storylink=cpy

 

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article96249992.html#storylink=cpy

Connie Young - August 17, 2016 - Swearengin, California lead on climate change

Swearengin, California lead on climate change

I appreciate Mayor Ashley Swearengin’s thoughtful stand on climate change. Citing the harmful impact that it’s having on California cities, she is supporting Senate Bill 32, which by 2030 would limit California’s greenhouse gas emissions to 40 percent less than 1980’s total emissions.

This month, our state senators will have an opportunity to follow our mayor’s courageous bipartisanship when they vote on Assembly Joint Resolution 43. This resolution calls on Congress to pass revenue-neutral carbon fee and dividend legislation. Such a plan would help achieve many of the goals mentioned by Mayor Swearengin, including “clean transportation, and energy independence projects.” It also would “align the state’s growth toward industries that are creating jobs faster than any other sectors of the economy.” 

California has been leading the world on climate change policy for years. Now it’s time for our members of Congress to work together to solve this serious problem. 

If you’re concerned about climate change, please ask your state senator to vote for AJR 43. The clock is ticking in more ways than one!

Connie Young, Citizens’ Climate Lobby, Fresno
August 17, 2016
 http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article96000832.html

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article96000832.html#storylink=cpyhttp://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article96000832.html

Bruce Ratcliff - August 3, 2016 - By either name, it’s bad news

By either name, it’s bad news 

The scientists had it right all along. The world is warming. For half a century, consensus among climatologists has been that rising levels of heat-trapping CO2 would result in rising temperatures.
They came up with an apt analogy for this: greenhouse effect: Your car is way hotter than the outside air when you park it at Fashion Fair in July at noon and come back a couple hours later. So simple. Global warming.

Then Frank Luntz, a Republican political strategist and global warming skeptic, used focus group results to determine that the term “climate change” is less frightening than “global warming.” Makes the future seem nicer – business almost as usual.

Well, as a July 29 Bee article indicates, that future is not-so-nice: “Four outdoor events in Fresno and Clovis are the first casualties of the triple-digit heat wave and dirty air that residents will bear through the weekend. The cancellations [due to the Soberanes fire, which is big and only getting bigger] echo the basic message of the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District and meteorologists at the National Weather Service in Hanford: Don’t go outside unless it’s absolutely necessary.”

Time to get serious about global whatchamacallit.

Bruce Ratcliffe, Fresno
August 3, 2016
 http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article93536222.html

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article93536222.html#storylink=cpy

 

Loren Alving - July 29, 2016 - Congress should pass carbon fee

Congress should pass carbon fee

California continues to lead the nation in dealing with climate change.


Ten years ago, California passed the California Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006, which commits the state to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020.

California’s economy has been strong despite implementation of cap-and-trade. Realizing, however, that California cannot do this alone and that the federal government needs a way to make good on its promises in the 2015 Paris Climate Agreement to reduce carbon emissions, the Legislature has gone even further.

On June 30, 2016, the Assembly passed resolution AJR 43, which calls upon Congress to pass revenue-neutral carbon fee and dividend legislation.

This national legislation will benefit the Central Valley; up to 70 percent of households stand to gain up to $625 per year. While our most vulnerable residents benefit the most, any negative impact on high-income households will be negligible.

Clean air and economic advantage; no wonder the Legislature is calling upon Congress to pass this legislation. As resolution AJR 43 heads to the California Senate, contact your state senator to speak up for our Valley.

Loren Alving, Fresno
July 29, 2016
 http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article92423002.html

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article92423002.html#storylink=cpy

 

Twyla Smith - July 13, 2016 - Conservatives: Consider British Columbia’s excellent energy policy

Conservatives: Consider British Columbia’s excellent energy policy 

I couldn’t agree more with Russell Harland (letter June 30) when he says the last thing we need is the government choosing winners and losers when it comes to our energy policy.

Citizens’ Climate Lobby’s proposal is market-based and revenue neutral, since all the fees collected are returned to U.S. households. In this way, consumers are protected from rising energy costs, and they decide how the revenue is spent, keeping the government out of the process. Plus our plan doesn’t require any subsidies or additional regulations.

Mr. Harland mentions Canada is attempting to tax carbon with the revenue going to the government – a terrible mistake! Please consider the case of British Columbia instead. It enacted a plan very similar to ours in 2008. So far it has cut reliance on fossil fuels by 15 percent while its economy out-performed the rest of Canada.

George Shultz, economist and former secretary of state under President Ronald Reagan, helped craft our plan and serves on our advisory board. Interestingly, Exxon Mobil actually supports a carbon pricing plan like ours as well. I urge Mr. Harland to find out more. Perhaps then he will join us in our effort – we need more conservative voices like his!

Twyla Smith, Madera
July 13, 2016
 http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article89428202.html

Read more here: http://www.fresnobee.com/opinion/letters-to-the-editor/article89428202.html#storylink=cpy