Sept. 11, 2026 5 AM PT
To the editor: The increasing damage to coastal California cities from the climate crisis is tragic, and likely to become even more so (“How Long Beach became a poster child for California’s clumsy, costly battle against global warming’s effects,” Sept. 9). But local governments have proven to be completely helpless in taking meaningful action to prevent it.
The wealthiest, most influential citizens in every beach town own homes on the edge of the ocean, and they demand cities prioritize protecting their property, even when it is futile. City Council members who try to take a longer-term approach are forced from office, and “survive the next storm” becomes the mantra. California faced a similar roadblock when cities refused to build affordable housing, and the state eventually had to assert control. A similar approach to the climate crisis may be the only way forward.
Tim Goncharoff, Fairfield
..
To the editor: Geez, what does it take for coastal cities to prepare for storms that are more severe because of El Niño (“‘The whole beach is gone’: Big waves bring destruction to SoCal coast. It’s a warning,” Sept. 9)? The answer is prepare way ahead of time, not put on a Band-Aid with sand berms on coastal beaches to protect property that should not have been built there previously.
The paragraph that mentions hopes that the city of Long Beach will dredge more sand to extend the beach further out is so absurd. A city could dump billions of tons of sand on a beach and as we have seen already, the sand gets washed away. Dredging is not the answer.
Pay residents to leave their homes and stop wasting money on projects that will not stop flooding or wave damage. People are paying the price now for using an extraordinary amount of fossil fuels that have contributed to climate change and the increased severity of storms.
Phillip Roullard, San Diego