I am writing in response to the commentary “State residents will pay dearly for the Superfund” (Jan. 11). In the commentary, the authors make fun of the act, calling it “laughable” to create a superfund to help those who are harmed by the extreme impact of the climate crisis.They further assert that the climate crisis is nothing but fraud, a hoax, and one that the rest of the world has finally realized.

The assertion that the rest of the world views the climate crisis as a hoax and fraud could not be further from the facts. From the Peoples’ Climate Vote 2024 the world’s largest standalone public opinion survey on climate change researchers found that:

— 53 percent of people worldwide are more worried about climate change now than they were a year earlier.

— More than two out of five people (43%) think extreme weather events were worse this year than last.

— Nearly eight in 10 people (78%) want more protection for people at risk from extreme weather.

— Two-thirds (63%) are starting to take climate change impacts into consideration when making decisions like where to live or work and what to buy.

— A third of people (33%) said climate change is affecting their big life decisions a lot.

— Four out of five people around the world (80%) want more climate action from their country.

— 86% agreed that their countries should set aside geopolitical differences, such as those regarding trade and security, and work together on climate change.

— 89% of people want to see more climate action from their governments.

— 72% support a quick transition away from fossil fuels to renewable sources of energy.

— Four in five people (79%) expressed support for climate justice, agreeing that rich countries should increase the help given to poorer countries to address climate change and its impacts.

The piece goes on to say the Great Barrier reef that was dying due to climate changes is “bigger and healthier than ever.”

The reef, thanks to many direct efforts to protect it, is regaining some of its loss from the extreme weather events. However, researchers are very cautious and continue to state “Climate change remains the greatest threat to the Reef because it drives these mass bleaching events … the frequency and intensity of bleaching events is unprecedented, and that is only forecast to escalate under climate change.”

The authors have said extreme weather events have always occurred, which we all know to be true.

However, the average number of extreme weather events recorded in the USA has increased from 2.5 per year in the 1920s to 8.5 in the 1940s to 350 per year for the period 2000-2010.

Researchers, without much doubt, conclude this is primarily due to the increase in CO2 in our atmosphere, creating a blanket like effect, that keeps the heat in creating the extreme rise in temperature. The increase in heat causes our oceans to warm. The warming of our atmosphere and the oceans directly impacts all of us. Warm water is evaporating quicker and at a larger rate than before, translating into heavier rainfalls.

We now have something called ‘rain bombs’ where the clouds become so loaded with water they drop it all at once creating a type of rain bomb. Helene’s rains were far beyond typical for that region. Already saturated the grounds just could not hold any more water, rivers streams overflowed, landslides occurred..the perfect storm. People in Asheville and surrounding areas are still recovering from the disaster.

We all watched in horror as we saw Los Angeles burning. Many of us have family and friends living in the area and most of us know at least one of the famous people who lost everything in the fires. LA had almost perfect storm conditions for the fire. They are in a drought, with little rain in months.

When prolonged dry spells occur, vegetation becomes parched and highly flammable, transforming forests and grasslands into tinderboxes waiting to ignite. Once a fire starts in these arid conditions, it can spread rapidly and uncontrollably due to the abundance of dry fuel and low humidity levels typical of drought-stricken areas. Santa Ana winds did not help as they reached hurricane strength.

Finally, the people “the protected classes” are those who are most at risk of harm from climate impact, not based on their gender, sexual orientation or anything else the letter suggested.

It is known that the climate crisis disproportionately impacts the poor as they are more likely to live in areas vulnerable to climate change.

In the end, the countries and people with the fewest resources will likely bear the greatest burden in terms of loss of life and relative investment and economy.We saw this play out in real time when Katrina hit New Orleans. Many of the city’s lowest-income residents lived in the floodplains of the Lower Ninth Ward, a neighbourhood that sat below sea level and was inundated when the canals and levees failed. The poor had no way out, while the more wealthy had the resources needed to escape the city before it hit

I conclude by wondering how anyone could question the fact we are in a climate crisis.

Perhaps because I am older and I have seen the changes for myself, that I know this crisis is severe and urgent. It scares the heck out of me.

Not so much for me personally, but for my grandchildren and the world I want for them

To ensure a better world we need all hands on deck. People from all political persuasions need to come together for the good of our planet.

I so agree and history has proved this to be true. When we Americans come together, there is nothing we can’t do. I still hold it to be true. Do you?

Judi Lutz Woods is a Fredonia resident.