Letters: Fiddling while Earth burns

Re “Obama weighing climate initiative,� June 18

We do need a sweeping climate plan. But any expert Washington watcher would tell you it’s difficult to have one when the notion of a carbon tax — or any tax — is discussed.

Even direct action by the administration, such as requiring existing coal-fired power plants to tighten up their carbon emissions, inevitably results in the Environmental Protection Agency backing down and adding several months to the review process.

Another example: The danger of hydrochlorofluorocarbons, often used as refrigerants, as potent greenhouse gases has been known for years, yet the U.S. and China are just now beginning to work on the issue.

Every passing year without significantly reducing our greenhouse emissions means that humanity has less time to do more work to prevent a soon-to-be-overheated planet.

Robert Siebert

Orange

I am a grandfather and a pastor; for both reasons the dilemma of our changing climate is the passion at the top of my list. My grandchildren will have to live with whatever we did or didn’t do in 2013 — as will all our grandchildren, regardless of our individual politics.

Putting a price on carbon emissions is the most realistic solution I have heard of; it brings in all parts of society as part of the solution, making polluters pay for their pollution.

May it be that we all come together on this one — we all have a huge stake in the outcome.

David Lutz

Claremont

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