Thank you for reporting on the front page that 2017 was one of the hottest years on record, when accounting for the effects of El Niño (“Planet continues dramatic warming,” Jan. 19).

It is important to remember that this warming was predicted by scientists more than four decades ago, using the laws of basic physics. It is physics that allows us to make successful predictions — think of astronomers predicting an eclipse’s timing many years in advance, with a precision of just seconds.

Likewise, basic physics tells us that carbon dioxide traps heat. This fact is the most important reason that we can predict, with very high confidence, that continued burning of fossil fuels will leave our grandchildren with a radically changed planet. The rest is just detail.

Jeffrey Severinghaus


Professor of Geosciences

Scripps Institution of Oceanography

Your constant drumbeat of bias against President Trump never ceases to amaze me. Steve Breen’s cartoon (“Zippo” Jan. 20) asked, “What is the White House doing to stop climate change?”

Here is a scoop for your paper and Breen: Climate change cannot be stopped. The climate has been changing since the Earth was created and before man inhabited it. The media’s credibility — what’s left of it — continues to take massive hits when that kind of nonsense is promoted.


Lynn Lowder

Bay Park

Thank you for Steve Breen’s editorial cartoon and for the front-page article on continued global warming in the Union-Tribune. It is vital for all of us to recognize the climate change threat and to do our part to meet it.

Climate change can appear to be an overwhelming problem. People fear that admitting the problem means accepting a greater government role in our lives.


Thankfully, that is not the case. Studies show that a market-driven approach, such as a national revenue-neutral carbon fee, can put us on the path to 100 percent clean energy without harm to the overall economy.

We can meet the climate threat with reasonable policies, but only if we start now. The longer we wait, the tougher it will get, until only Draconian solutions remain. People should tell their members of Congress we need action now.

Carl Yaeckel

San Diego


It is frustrating to watch tweets and scandals dominate the news cycle while climate change, deemed an existential threat by experts, gets mentioned as an afterthought. But seeing your article on the front page gives me hope.

If more newspapers would exercise this sort of perspective, our lawmakers might actually feel pressure to enact a carbon tax so we can get back to issues that, while very important, do not threaten human civilization.

Mike Anderson


San Diego

Kurtis Alexander reports “the past four years were the four hottest on record. Seventeen of the 18 warmest years have occurred since 2001.”

The fake news of a “climate pause” by Koch’s fake science Heartland Institute is cynical. The disastrous effects and costs are no longer something far off. They’re here, costing billions, and will get worse.

California’s wildfire season is longer and fires are worse. Coastal cities plan billions in mitigation for sea level rise and will need to condemn waterfront areas wholesale. There are still things we can do to arrest this, and a narrow window. One federal proposal gaining steam in both parties is a carbon fee and a dividend to the population to cover costs.


Our state leads with renewable mandates and goals to be 100 percent renewable. It’s now feasible and competitive. Find a group. There’s lots to do.

James Ferguson

North Park

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