Readers React: Climate change isn't the cause of California's wildfires, but it's still a major threat

Readers React: Climate change isn’t the cause of California’s wildfires, but it’s still a major threat

A structure burns in Lake County, Calif., last month during a wildfire. Scientists have disputed Gov. Jerry Brown's contention that climate change has caused the massive fires burning throughout the state.

Oct. 20, 2015 9:51 AM PT

To the editor: It’s correct to call out Gov. Jerry Brown for invoking climate change to explain this year’s wildfires if the science is not there to back it up. (“Gov. Brown’s link between climate change and wildfires is unsupported, fire experts say,” Oct. 18)

On the other hand, there’s nothing in his faux pas that should embolden climate change doubters, as the science indicating that climate change is happening and driven by human activities is solid. In fact, 97% of climate scientists are in agreement, and the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change gives that conclusion a 95% level of certainty.

So let’s not waste energy criticizing Brown’s misstatement here. Instead, let’s applaud his efforts for getting California to lead the nation on solutions to climate change, and let’s try to put in place a national price on carbon before it’s too late to halt the worst effects of climate change.

Sarah Mosko, Santa Ana

To the editor: I applaud the focus on facts about the lack of causality between climate change and California’s wildfires demonstrated in this article. Climate change is a real phenomenon; climate models show only consistently warmer weather in future decades, not currently.

It is also true that there is great controversy over whether the general circulation models that climate scientists use to forecast the effects and timing of climate change can be scaled down to make specific and accurate predictions for regions the size of California.

The article’s quote from University of Colorado climate scientist Roger Pielke that our governor is engaging in “noble cause corruption” when he says that carbon pollution is “in many respects driving all of this” should remind us that solutions need to be based on an accurate understanding of the problems we face.

In this case, as the article points out, we must change our fire management policies and do more to fire protect our homes.

Michael Hertel, Claremont

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