To the editor:
Regarding “Fringe climate proposal, giant space umbrella attracts attention” (front page, February 3):
The idea that we need to invest trillions of dollars to build a giant space umbrella to protect Earth from the sun is ridiculous. It’s too expensive, too slow, and risks “termination shock” in the event of a major breakdown or accident.
If NASA and other space agencies were to go ahead with a plan to spend millions of dollars on pilots, perhaps it should be named Project Icarus for its arrogance.
We need to grasp reality, build consensus on the basis that the climate change problem is serious, and build on existing solutions to this problem on this planet.
Job 1: Accelerate the global transition away from fossil fuel-based economies.
Eric Waltz
Philadelphia
The author is a professor of law and business ethics at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. He served as dean of the Global Environmental Leadership Initiative from 2007 until 2020.
To the editor:
Regarding “Parents Help Three Evicted Immigrant Family Find New Homes” (news article, February 5):
I can only feel admiration for the humanity of the Brooklyn residents who brought solace to a family devastated by their harrowing emigration experience. By focusing on the individual rather than the whole, we can avoid the core question: Are there limits to what our current broken national and local government systems can do?
Even with the best intentions, reforms, international agreements, and securing adequate resources will take time. Global migration patterns are changing, putting pressure not only on our laws and capacities, but also on our moral obligations. There is infinite suffering in this world. How we deal with it is part of the crisis of our time.
Steven Berkowitz
new york