Re: “Mandryk: Our disconnection from cause of climate change harm is alarming,” (SP, May 15).
As a physicist who has given public talks on climate change for the past 20 years, it is disheartening to see the same old arguments claiming that humans cannot change Earth’s climate from those who don’t understand atmospheric physics.
Even some of the simplest arguments such as regular smog alerts in big cities like Los Angeles and Beijing, the measured increasing effects of acid rain, rapidly melting glaciers or dying coral reefs all fall on deaf ears.
Yet, while scientifically illiterate politicians and others cherry-pick data and argue over who is right, our climate gets worse by the day.
In 2015, I was the moderator for a panel on climate change organized by the Society of Actuaries. The data then was very clear. In a five-year period, insurance companies have paid 15 per cent more compensation than in the previous five-year period for climate change related damage.
So, whether our “leaders” admit it or not, we are all paying dearly for the effects of climate change. Resolving this problem is not impossible and won’t destroy economies, but it requires everyone to work together.
Solutions exist that don’t have to be painful but require honesty, reduction of stress on natural resources by squandering less, development of renewable energy alternatives and allowance for nature to heal and absorb the changes.
The sooner we address the “cause of climate change,” the less environmental damage we will pass on to our children.
Michael Pravica, Henderson, NV
