To the editor: Hurricane Helene flooded my brother’s home near Tampa Bay, and I am certain it fared worse when Milton hit. Op-ed article writer Anna Jane Joyner will have to stretch her imagination to fashion a screenplay more horrific than what happened in idyllic western North Carolina, where I vacationed every summer in childhood. (“Helene destroyed my hometown. I don’t want climate change stories of false hope,” Oct. 4)
As a physician, I feel a special responsibility to advocate for aggressive legislation to address the health effects of a warming world, including the mental health impacts that Joyner mentioned (post-traumatic stress disorder, suicide, substance abuse and depression).
My response to Joyner is to express solidarity based on shared loss and re-dedicate myself to calling out misguided climate denialism. I will also advocate for finding the political will to accelerate the transition away from poisonous fossil fuels.
Our nation must rapidly electrify, impose a carbon-fee-and-dividend system, partner with every tree still standing and get out the vote for the most climate-forward candidates.
Gary Stewart, Laguna Beach
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To the editor: We’re not out of the woods, yet. In fact, we’ve just put our little toe into the woods.
When I watched Al Gore in the 2006 film “An Inconvenient Truth,” I was ho-hum until I saw his graph of temperature swings increasing. It conveyed a crucial point: The climate is a system that is totally out of control.
Even if we stop the production of all greenhouse gasses, right now, the weather is going to get a lot worse. And it’s going to last for many, many years to come. At this point, all we can do is make it not so bad — that being, humans survive.
I also consider that I may be wrong. If I am, the solutions to mitigate climate change will only lead to a much healthier planet. Yeah, the economy as we know is going to tank, but 3% growth, year over year, is not sustainable.
Whether you believe me or not, if we implement solutions, the world will be a better place. On that I stake my life.
Gregg Ferry, Carlsbad