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Letters to the Editor

Time is running out for our beleaguered planet

Smog hangs over Beijing’s main boulevard, Chang’an Avenue, looking west toward the Forbidden City, Nov. 30. Although the city is cracking down on dirty vehicles and some power plants, smog still frequently hangs over the city. Chinese President Xi Jinping went to climate talks in Paris earlier this month to pledge that China will reduce emissions linked to global climate change.
Smog hangs over Beijing’s main boulevard, Chang’an Avenue, looking west toward the Forbidden City, Nov. 30. Although the city is cracking down on dirty vehicles and some power plants, smog still frequently hangs over the city. Chinese President Xi Jinping went to climate talks in Paris earlier this month to pledge that China will reduce emissions linked to global climate change. Stuart Leavenworth TNS

Homo sapiens have evolved as the dominant species on our planet, unfortunately not as a positive element on our environment. Our industrialized way of life is leading us toward a path of self-destruction. Overpopulation, combined with the exploitation of our natural resources, is having a calamitous effect on our global ecosystem. Climate change is real and is only the beginning of a nightmarish scenario waiting for us down the road.

On the world stage, leaders are making the proper noises, but when it comes to action, it’s way too little and far too late. Speaking as the former director of the Planetary Survivor Alliance, a San Luis Obispo-based group active during the 1980s, we fought tirelessly to bring environmental awareness to the public.

Most regular people get it, but it never ceases to amaze me the level of ignorance, real or faked, among some politicians and big corporate interests, especially the fossil fuel industry.

We are facing a global environmental catastrophe. Coral reefs are dying because of ocean acidification. Tropical rainforests are still being destroyed all over the world. Thousands of animal species are becoming extinct. And the list goes on and on. We as human beings must act responsibly and become a symbiotic force to heal the planet. Time is running out.

Zaxa Masferrer, San Luis Obispo

This story was originally published March 21, 2016 at 8:36 PM with the headline "Time is running out for our beleaguered planet."

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