History shows climate’s change is nothing new
he letter, “Heaven help us if we ignore climate change” (Readers Write, Jan. 8), prompted me to review a book written by Yuval Noah Harari entitled “Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind,” which has on its cover a recommendation written by Bill Gates. On page 66, Harari says, “Even though Australia’s climate changed some 45,000 years ago, it wasn’t a remarkable upheaval. It’s hard to see how the new weather patterns alone could have caused such a massive extinction. It’s common today to explain anything and everything as the result of climate change, but the truth is that earth’s climate never rests. It is in constant flux. … In particular, our planet has experienced numerous cycles of cooling and warming. During the last million years, there has been an ice age on average every 100,000 years.” I would change that letter’s headline to, “Heaven help us if we ignore the existence of something way bigger than us out there.”
HERMAN RAMSEY, ATLANTA
Each of us can create a danger to democracy
It’s easy for each of us to be a danger to our democracy. All we have to do is stop thinking about the issues and ignore the facts. Just attach ourselves to one political party, philosophy or doctrine and always support it. Close our minds to points of view that are initially contrary to our own. Avoid being labeled a moderate or an independent. Tell our representatives to dig in their heels and never compromise. Treat members of other political parties like enemies. Speak about them using mean, derogatory or hateful speech. Do these things, and we will continue to have the confrontational, no-compromise, dysfunctional national government we now have. Do these things, and we ourselves will be a danger to the best form of government ever devised.
D. FRANKLIN MOORE JR., ALPHARETTA
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