The planet is getting hotter, and so are your letters on the subject

Welcome back to Yours.Sincerely. This week, online commenters and letter writers expressed their concerns about the future, as the gulf between the seriousness of the threat of climate change and the poverty of Australia’s response continues to grow.

This is the only planet we have. It’s time to act

• This month is likely to be the hottest July the earth has experienced in about 120,000 years, wrote climate editor Nick O’Malley and science reporter Angus Dalton.

Tim ban all donors I wouldn’t want to be a scientist, to be constantly shouted down and then, in the final gasp of civilisation, to be crucified for not having made the mob believe me in time.

Keasty Unfortunately, there are too many ostriches in power with their heads in the sand. At what point will we even try to help ourselves?

Dave H The change we need requires some effort and broad-based grassroots activism.

Ozhowes (Vic) The conservatives, right wing, climate change deniers have stood against any meaningful change for decades and continue to be voted in to government in many countries around the world. Suck it up, people. You are now paying the price for decades of delay at your own hands by voting for those that promised to do nothing.

ConcernedVoter This is the only planet we have. Unless there is an extraordinary change in policies and actions globally – including laggard Australia – the world is on track for 2.6-2.9 degrees of heating by 2100. The gulf between the seriousness and urgency of the threat of climate change and the poverty of Australia’s response continues to grow exponentially.

Mork from Ork Climate change = extremes in temperature and precipitation. This is the perfect storm. It will get worse.

If we don’t go woke, will the planet go broke?

• Columnist Sean Kelly asked readers to consider the words our eyes tend to skip over when we read about the climate catastrophe already taking place and then reflect on the cost of doing nothing.

I love Melbourne Many no longer read the news as it’s too confronting and depressing; facts are not wanted. It’s like going through a kind of grief cycle – denial, anger, bargaining, depression until we achieve acceptance.

The Portly Possum What else can you say about the climate? The world is addicted to fossil fuel and capitalism and pollies and corporations are addicted to greenwashing.

JustJoe With climate change, the “boiling frog” analogy resonates; people just don’t see an immediate cause and the effect of inaction.

Bonnieboo Unfortunately we have found out that using the term “global warming” originally allowed those in denial to claim that there was no problem as cold weather extremes were still happening. Climate change is probably a better term as it implies extreme weather events.

Mrs Smith Climate change deniers are just going to rant about wokeness instead of realising if we don’t go woke, the planet will go broke.

Do our children face a depressing future?

• A major climatic system that helps regulate weather in Europe and North America could collapse as soon as 2025 due to greenhouse gas emissions, far sooner than United Nations scientists had predicted, reported climate editor Nick O’Malley.

Paige Turner When climate scientists first rang the climate alarm bell this was exactly what they talked about. They also said that, ultimately, Australia would be hit hardest by climate change. No doubt that’s on its way (some karma coming down the pipe). The only bit that’s new is that scientists say it’s all happening more quickly than they thought it would.

Alephnull I’ve been aware of the science of climate change for over 30 years and have watched, impotent, as the world has marched to disaster. It’s ironic that, with all our wonderful new toys, the outlook for humanity has never looked less attractive. Our children face a terrible depressing future.

nopo And yet this week, I heard an Australian politician obfuscating on the radio about plans for rapid decarbonisation of the country. The denial of reality is terrifying.

Brenda Loots The notion that we should move from attempts to correct human-induced climate change to instead focus on adaptation is entirely driven by corporate interests to keep the party going until the current leaders, who fail us so comprehensively, all have enjoyed their riches and slinked off the planet. Future generations be damned.

DataDriven Governments are still dragging their feet and refusing to take urgent decisive action to wean their economies off fossil fuels. Laughably they say action will cost too much, yet look at the cost of inaction!

• You can join the conversation at smh.com.au in the comments sections of each article and in letters to the editor in print and online. See you next Friday. Yours. Sincerely, Pat Stringa, letters editor

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