Rose Garden Resident

Letters & Opinions

Speak Out

The real issue pertains
to population growth

I see lots of letters in Jan. 19 issue of the Resident concerning global warming, but none of them address the real problem.

Yes, we humans are probably causing the problem, but our illustrious former vice president and current state attorney general do not comprehend the problem.

Assume that we force the automobile companies to produce smaller cars that can reduce the emissions of carbon dioxide by 50 percent. Most population experts say that the world's population is doubling about every 50 years. Not only that, but Third World countries are increasing their percentage of automobile drivers.

So in less than 50 years we will be back where we started plus the additional carbon dioxide emitted by the millions of new humans breathing.

We must face the real issue and start talking about slowing the population growth.

James A. (Bud) Lima

San Jose

Climate changes; it's time to sort it out

Kristin Khanna is mistaken about climate records (SpeakOut, Jan.18). By examining ice cores, scientists have been able to determine global temperatures, CO² levels and other climate indicators for the past 420,000 years--well before homo sapiens arrived on the scene. Kristin should enter "ice core weather history" into her favorite search engine and examine the findings for herself.

Kristin's letter contained an insidious assumption that's common in climate change discussions. She's asserting that the burden of proof falls on those calling attention to climate change. She does not cite any data. Her stance ignores what the situation actually is. Imagine we're in a bus together, traveling at speed into darkness on an icy road. Some people say they see a bridge abutment ahead; others don't. It seems that in this situation a prudent person would take his or her foot off the gas until things were sorted out, especially considering that the bus is filled with our children.

Ken Eklund

San Jose