To the Editor:

Re “This Has Been the Best Year Ever (Again)” (column, Dec. 29):

As an inveterate optimist, I appreciate Nicholas Kristof’s emphasis on all the positive developments recent years have brought to the global human population. I agree that stopping and acknowledging how far we have come gives us the strength and fortitude to keep going, and guards against the hopelessness and despair that can be paralyzing. And yet.

More and more we are realizing how deeply intertwined humanity is with the whole of the created world, and how deeply our thriving is dependent on the thriving of the entire planet and all its species. So while Mr. Kristof offers a brief nod to our climate crisis, that fails to do justice to the fact that this year was one of the worst years ever for the planet.

Kristin Johnston Largen

Gettysburg, Pa.

The writer is associate dean of religious and spiritual life at Gettysburg College.

To the Editor:

I thought that Nicholas Kristof’s column highlighting human progress made an interesting juxtaposition with your front-page article about the Trump administration’s assault on scientific research (“Trump Eroding Role of Science in Government”).