Letter: Not too late

To the editor:

Next March, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change will release a report on the effects of global warming. Information about the report has already been leaked as reported in the SF Gate (“Report: Warming likely to make bad things worse,” Nov. 5). This report confirms my fears about global warming: food and water shortages will become more commonplace, severe weather events will claim more lives, and the threat of violence and civil war will be more pronounced. The article, however, ends on an optimistic note. We can prevent disasters by reducing our fossil fuel emissions. 

Currently there is legislation that has been introduced in the Senate which places a tax on carbon emissions and returns the proceeds to the public. The Climate Protection Act provides a market-based approach to cutting CO2 and helps consumers to see the true costs of fossil fuels. The report due out next year foretells of devastating future, but with this tax-and-rebate bill before the Senate, I am hopeful.