State and nation must do more, not less, on climate change

Re “Do state laws actually have a positive effect on climate change?” (Feb. 21): George Henry writes that California has “done enough” about climate change. Like some others, he worries that China must act first. He also remarks that the “climate is changing as it always has.”

Yes, the climate is always changing, but it has never changed as quickly as in the last few decades. The world has never seen anything like it. The world is warming 50 times faster than any time in the past. The causes of past warming are not present today. We know, without any doubt, that pollution due to human activity (carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases) is causing this change.

As for China, it leads the world in producing electric vehicles and solar panels, and plans to lead the world into the new clean energy economy. We risk becoming a clean energy backwater as this inevitable transition continues across the world. Will America lead or be left behind?

— Carl Yaeckel, San Diego