Military can’t afford to deny climate change

Re “The awkward dance between Trump and the military over climate change” (Jan. 23): Thank you to Michael Smolens and the Union-Tribune for his column about the military response to climate change.

Its members are no tree-huggers, but our military knows a problem when it sees one, and it knows how to respond: get to work on solutions. It is partnering with local governments and scientists here in San Diego and elsewhere to find and implement those solutions.

What we need is for Washington, D.C., to join this great task. A good dance gets everyone out on the floor, but so far our federal government is sitting this one out. Write to Congress and tell members you want effective action on climate change. Pricing carbon emissions would be a great start, and there is growing bipartisan support for this approach. All of us need to join this dance.


Carl Yaeckel

San Diego

Smolens’ column injects a healthy dose of reality into the conversation about climate change. The military lives in a world where facts matter.


One of the less-appreciated dangers of climate change is that it affects whole regions and multiple countries all at once, rather than impacting one or two countries at a time. Widespread drought can occur abruptly, in just a few years.

Imagine the military implications of 25 failed states in Africa all at once — I’m sure the U.S. military is planning for this.

Jeff Severinghaus

Professor of geosciences


Scripps Institution of Oceanography

Unlike this president, our military must address reality, like sea-level rise, frequent and intense resource wars, famines and forced migrations due to climate change. The past director of Pentagon planning said logistics costs, including attacks on supplies not including deaths, are about $3,100 per gallon of fuel moved to a forward location and represent real tactical vulnerability.

Should we avoid new solar cell technology at forward positions because this makes a speech-maker look bad? How would our services feel that political face-saving for the president’s ego would mean letting the nation be more vulnerable? Planners know climate change is not just real, but here now. Just like our adversaries know.

James Ferguson


San Diego

Laws of nature don’t change for politics

We have always known that physics does not negotiate, not even a little bit. So whether or not our president “believes” his administration’s reports on climate change does not affect the changing climate. It does affect the country’s and the world’s willingness to make the changes to deal with it. The military, especially the Navy, has been an early adapter. Most Navy bases are at the sea level after all.

The kingpin of the response would be to put a steadily increasing fee on carbon dioxide pollution and allocate all the revenue to the American people (not the government).


Fortunately such a bill has been introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives. It is a serious climate bill and deserves our support. Our very own Rep. Scott Peters is an original co-sponsor. We should thank him.

Marshall Saunders

Coronado

Don’t assume carbon fee would pencil out


Recently, several writers urged a carbon tax, with rebates to citizens, as a good way to fight climate change. The idea is more complex than it seems. A company’s only source of money is customers. Most manufacturers use carbon-based energy. With the tax, they will need more accounting, compliance and tax staffing to follow the law. The prices for everything will have to rise by more than the tax, maybe much more.

The government will need a new bureaucracy to administer the tax and to write and enforce regulations. All these added staff require wages, pensions and benefits, leaving very little to be refunded to citizens. Citizens may need to prove how much tax they paid before getting any refund. The record-keeping will be detailed and expensive. The government may return the money preferentially to low-income folks, thus converting the program to wealth re-distribution. Bye-bye jobs.

Barry McElmurry

Vista


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