To the editor: When politicians resist taking action to combat climate change, they often cite concerns about job losses. What about loss of life? (“As heat deaths rise nationwide, California braces for worsening episodes of extreme temperatures,” August 26)
How many deaths will it take for the Conservatives to address the problem? How many people must die?
The article quotes Jeffrey Howard, a professor of public health at Texas, as saying that research finding an increase in heat deaths in the U.S. justifies “greater investment in surveillance and better tools to understand what underlies these trends.”
We know what is behind these trends: climate change.
What justifies this finding is a drastic and immediate change in the use of fossil fuels. Heat deaths underline what we mean when we say that climate change affects the habitability of our planet.
The article talks about expanding hydration and cooling centers, but having people use cars to get to these places will only exacerbate the problem.
Murray Zichlinsky, Long Beach
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To the editor: The rising number of heat-related deaths is just one of the harmful effects of climate change that call for an acceleration of our efforts to combat it. But if former President Trump is elected in November, the urgent need for action to combat climate change will be over.
Trump has called climate change a hoax and his previous administration dismissively refused to address the crisis. Now, in 2024, the Republican platform does not even mention climate change and Trump would reverse the Biden administration's current climate change initiatives.
We hope voters will not allow Trump to seriously degrade the future of our children and grandchildren.
Jack Holtzman and Irwin Rubenstein, San Diego
