Opinion: Gov. Brown gets what President Trump doesn’t: Denialism won’t stop climate change

To the editor: In his first few months in office, President Trump has reversed himself on many issues that he espoused on the campaign trail. He was ignorant then and, to his credit, he is now learning rapidly. His statements on climate change so far have escaped reevaluation. (“Trump is creating a void on climate change. Can California persuade other states to help fill it?,” April 15)

In the meantime, glaciers will continue to melt, ocean levels will rise and erratic weather patterns will bedevil us. At some point the president will have to face the evidence and admit that keeping the coal industry on life support is not a winning strategy for this country.

Kudos to Gov. Jerry Brown, who will have none of this nonsense and who is prepared to forcefully stand up to Washington and keep California on the right track. The future has a way of being very unpredictable, and a time will come, soon I hope, when the truth about climate change will become undeniable, even to the president.

Paul Rosenberger, Manhattan Beach

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To the editor: Now is the moment for the “public backlash” that Jeremy Symons of the Environmental Defense Fund mentions if we are to have any chance of salvaging the Paris climate agreement, California’s emissions standards, “cool” electric vehicles and the coalitions Brown has been trying to form with other regions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The article reiterates what we know: Politicians will do what the people demand. We cannot complain about the Trump administration’s scorched-earth policies if we are not rebuking them.

March for science on April 22 and march for the climate on April 29. Demonstrations will be held in many local areas. Show our politicians we have their backs on climate action because even “schools and roads” are useless on a dead planet.

Sharon Markenson, Woodland Hills

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