Letters: We need systemic change to halt the worst effects of climate change

Thank you for the article “Around globe, heat records break as Earth warms fast” (July 7). The article reports that two weeks ago, three days were the hottest on record with heat-trapping greenhouse gases being the root cause. Renowned climate scientist Michael Mann refers to this as “the new abnormal” — that average global temperatures will keep going up until we stop putting greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. To do that, we need a rapid transition away from fossil fuels.

As individuals, we can do things to help, such as drive and fly less, eat less meat, use energy-efficient appliances and insulate our homes. But real significant change will happen when we as citizens call or write to Congress encouraging them to act to make systemic change. That could include implementing carbon pricing, creating incentives for the construction of wind and solar farms, and expediting approvals of multistate transmission lines to get renewable energy to areas where it is needed.

Both our individual action and advocacy to Congress will prevent “the new abnormal” from being our default future.

— Dorelle Ackermann, Mokena, Illinois

Climate change affects us all

Global warming, also known as climate change, is having dire consequences around the world. Here in the U.S., the effects of this phenomenon are being felt through unrelenting extreme heat, which is the No. 1 cause of weather-related deaths. More people die from heat than those killed by tornadoes, hurricanes, fires and floods combined.

Those who survive severe weather are subject to extreme stress while attempting to put their lives back together. While a dwelling is made whole, how does a family continue on with its daily living? Imagine the emotional toll and financial cost in relation to the disruption of a family’s daily routines.

On a broader scale, what challenges are there to communities whose infrastructure has been totally uprooted? In the final analysis, who pays for restoring roads, bridges, utilities, schools, governmental buildings and more?

The burden for rebuilding falls upon all of us, even if the destruction is hundreds of miles away. Since the federal government provides aid to stricken communities around the country, all taxpayers are participating in that renewal.

— Sam Solomon, Deerfield

GOP ignores climate problems

Chicago recently experienced having the worst air quality in the world. Globally, we recently had our hottest week on record. There has been and continues to be a seemingly endless parade of climate-related problems in the news.

Meanwhile, the Republicans in the House of Representatives, despite a warming planet disproportionately affecting states that they represent, continue to prioritize such important activities as rewriting the history of the Jan. 6 insurrection, obstructing law enforcement agencies that they regard as politically inconvenient and trying to criminalize being Hunter Biden’s father.

I think that I already have enough information to be pretty sure about how I will be voting for federal offices in 2024. There are enough real problems to deal with that we can’t afford to have our elected officials focusing on fake ones.

A vote for Republicans is, demonstrably, not a vote for serious governance in Washington.

— Curt Fredrikson, Mokena, Illinois

Preventing basement flooding

Sixty years ago, my relatives lived on South LaSalle Street. Whenever heavy rains were predicted, Uncle John would screw a standup pipe, which was above the ground level outside, into the floor drain.

Given that water will not rise above its source, this saved the basement from floodwater. The basement stayed completely dry throughout heavy storms.

I suggest people like letter writer Lisa Wilcoxen (“Role of water department,” July 10) invest in having a plumber install a threaded floor drain and standup pipe.

— Allan Costello, Bartlett

Put crime decline in headline

I applaud the Tribune opinion section’s effort to address the very complex issues around crime in Chicago (“Gun violence dominates news, but is Chicago’s crime out of control?” July 9). I found the initial focus on context to be most informative.

I suspect that if you asked 100 Chicagoans whether crime had increased over the last 20 years, about 99 would say, “Yes.” The facts regarding the declines in crime should have been in the headline, not buried in the op-ed. It is perception that matters.

With attention to root causes and investments in poor communities, we can change the narrative.

— Arnie Kimmel, Chicago

Op-ed plays statistical games

I was dismayed and a little surprised that the Tribune opinion section included “Gun violence dominates news, but is Chicago’s crime out of control?” in the new series on Chicago’s gun violence.

When I observed the authors were professors of criminal justice, I anticipated a thoughtful and provocative op-ed. However, the insipid and tone-deaf narrative that followed could not have been any less insightful. These authors point out that “just” 24% of serious crimes in Chicago were violent offenses. Terrific, only 1 in 4 crimes rises to the level of violent offenses.

In addition, there is a comparative analysis to 2001 and some sleight-of-hand statistics informing readers (in the same sentence) that serious violent crimes decreased from 2001 to 2022 — but wait, from 2019 to 2022, they actually increased slightly. Furthermore, these authors note 90% of all serious crime does not involve a firearm. How reassuring! Victims who are subject to serious crimes likely are pleased that a firearm was not brandished (maybe just a knife or a hint that a firearm could be produced).

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Then at the end of the op-ed, we are informed that the drop in nongun violent crime (compared with 2001!) can be attributed to “improved responses to crime victims.” Left unsaid is how improving the response to a victim in any fashion will actually deter and reduce crime?

Lastly, the positive spin on crime that these authors try to describe is contradicted by their own research, namely that between 2019 and 2022, there was a 46% increase in gun violence in Chicago. The Tribune should be commended for its attention to crime and policing. In the same edition, two other op-eds recount the real story: “The high cost of one gunshot” and “The effects of gun violence ripple across Chicago’s economy.”

I recognize the authors of the first op-ed are well intentioned and truly hope these professors of criminal justice can reevaluate their overly optimistic tone and conduct a better analysis of proposed solutions to crime.

Playing statistical games and pointing out that burglaries have declined while more people are being shot in Chicago is not conducive to a helpful or realistic narrative.

— Gregory Bales, Munster, Indiana

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