CONSIDER CLIMATE

With climate experts warning that we may have only about 10 years to make “unprecedented changes” in order to avert a climate catastrophe, I was pleased to see Karen R. Long’s review of Nathaniel Rich’s book Losing Earth: A Recent History, which “takes a look at our failures in the fight against climate change” (May 10).

Unfortunately, as indicated in the review, while “seas rise, the deserts surge, the storms intensify and forests burn,” and “more refugees flee environmental crises than violent conflict,” we still seem to be failing in efforts to address climate threats.

Denial is not a river in Egypt, and most people today seem to be, in effect, rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic as we head toward a giant iceberg. While Israel is especially threatened by climate change, as a rising Mediterranean Sea could inundate the coastal plain where much of Israel’s population and infrastructure are located and a hotter and drier Middle East make terrorism and war more likely, according to military experts, this was not an issue at all in the recent Israeli election. Israelis extol US President Donald Trump for his statements and actions regarding Israel, but ignore that he is in denial about climate change and doing everything possible to roll back efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, thereby increasing climate threats to Israel and, indeed, the entire world.

If we want a decent, habitable world for future generations, it is urgent that Israel and Jews worldwide play leadership roles in combating climate change and thereby help to shift our imperiled planet onto a sustainable path. RICHARD H. SCHWARTZ New York