Climate deniers can’t deny orange skies

Brooklyn: It has become standard summer news that massive wildfires affect thousands of people who’ve never experienced them before (“More than 250,000 flee wildfires,” July 26.) Starting in 2024, it has been us in the Northeast who see annual orange skies and are warned against going outside. And now Europe.

Is there anyone left who doesn’t know that the planet is heating up way too fast? Oh, that’s right — the Republicans led by the Great Orange One himself. Talk of climate change is a “conspiracy.” For 40 years, Big Gas and Oil have thwarted efforts to transform our energy system from fossil fuels to renewable energy. Republican dedication to the interests of the 1% (and their campaign contributions) has held us back from developing cheap, renewable energy that would be under local control because corporations simply can’t capture billions of dollars from modalities like solar, wind, geothermal and weatherization. Instead, we have the cruel absurdity of President Trump imposing tariffs on Canada as if its wildfire smoke were under the personal control of the Canadian prime minister.

With their claims of conspiracies and control of the wind, the Republicans have become the party of magical thinking. But where will even the super-wealthy go when the planet is burned to a crisp? There’s no magical solution.

Becky Plattus

Call in their debts

Sag Harbor, L.I.: Bravo to Reps. Dan Goldman and Tom Suozzi for their articulate defense of our state’s Climate Change Superfund Law (“Shield N.Y.’s Climate Change Superfund Law,” op-ed, July 28). The law authorizes New York to bill oil and gas corporations $3 billion a year toward mitigating environmental damage caused by fossil fuels, which is an estimated $140 billion. That $3 billion is less than a 2% interest payment on a debt of $140 billion. Moreover, the law counts only environmental damage, not harm to our health from increased respiratory diseases and other impacts of breathing air polluted by fossil fuels. All 26 New York representatives in Congress should demand that the fossil fuel industry begin paying down the gargantuan principal it has accumulated over the past seven decades.

Stephanie Doba

Sullying with his name

Plainview, L.I.: As narcissistic, shameless, disrespectful and disgusting as Trump putting his name on the Kennedy Center was, his current efforts to also get his name on New York’s Penn Station will pale in comparison to the future Donald J. Trump Lincoln Memorial!

Richard Siegelman

Post-pandemic pursuit

Brooklyn: Dr. Anthony Fauci refused to answer questions at a Senate hearing, taking the Fifth Amendment, so he could very well face criminal charges. From the beginning of the COVID pandemic, he gave false information and guidelines to follow. Many businesses were ruined and many lives were lost. It’s only right that he face charges in court. This should also go for then-Gov. Andrew Cuomo, who forced businesses to shut down or follow ridiculous guidelines when open, then had the nursing home scandal when thousands of elderly people people died. He shouldn’t be exempt from prosecution either. There should be accountability for both men who played God.

Joseph Comperchio

Ignorant inquisition

West Orange, N.J.: It’s a very dark time in this country when those in charge are bent on destroying the reputation of a man dedicated for decades to saving lives. This is truly a war against science and civility by cruel people in a ridiculous revenge frenzy. Dr. Fauci, I thank you, my family thanks you, and yes, this country thanks you. God bless you.

Miriam Sheff

Gleeful retaliation

Jacksonville, Fla: Did anyone notice that bleach-blond Fox News mouthpiece sitting directly behind Fauci? While each Republican sheep committed a virtual public hanging of the accomplished Fauci, Laura Ingraham smirked each and every time a Republican lambasted him! One Republican senator proclaimed that more COVID deaths occurred under President Joe Biden than the outgoing Trump. That’s true, but only because COVID started to explode in early 2020, when Trump cluelessly said it would “disappear when the spring flowers begin to bloom”!

Carl J.C. Hafner

Doctors disagree

Manhattan: To Voicer Mason Blake Pimsler: I was surprised to see a doctor actually endorse Medicare Advantage. Due to my health issues, I see several specialists in addition to my primary care doctor. None of them endorse Medicare Advantage. None think it is better than regular Medicare. You gloss over the prior authorizations that Medicare Advantage forces people to go through. The denial of care that leads to has killed people. I hope I never get to a point where Medicare Advantage is my primary insurer.

Richard Simon

Partners, not programs

Brooklyn: The mayor has resurrected his campaign promise of providing discounted food at grocery stores run by the city. As details of his plan became more public over the last few days, it’s increasingly clear to me that he may be missing a much easier and more cost-effective way to accomplish his goal. Why not use the existing community of stores? Although not perfect, existing stores provide more outlets for customers than one location per borough. When you think of all the costs associated with obtaining appropriate sites, training and maintaining staff and establishing relationships with wholesalers, the money might be better spent subsidizing existing grocery outlets. Then the only city expense is auditing program participants to determine compliance, fining them if they abuse the relationship. Why reinvent the wheel?

Henry D’Amato

Actionable accusation

Manhattan: Kudos to Mayor Mamdani. His contempt for the Jewish state of Israel will lead our city right into a libel suit worth hundreds of millions of dollars. He called Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu a war criminal and orchestrater of genocide. Meanwhile, Netanyahu has been convicted of nothing. He’s only been indicted by a kangaroo court not recognized by the U.S. Maybe Mamdani should ask Time magazine what their innuendos against the late Prime Minister Ariel Sharon cost them in legal fees and settlement payments (and Time didn’t even come close to using the “G” word). Or maybe in Mamdani’s perverted vision for America, you’re guilty until proven innocent. It’s the socialist way.

Louis Russo

Gratuitous

Brooklyn: Re “Killer was hired” (July 30): The pictures accompanying this story are disturbing. Do we really need to see this? We’re talking about a person here. Why does the Daily News think it’s necessary to publish actual blood on the street? It’s repulsive, disgusting and disrespectful to the victims. Do better, Daily News. I don’t appreciate having to skip articles because of your obscene bloodlust. We’re already inundated with daily reports of death and murder. There’s no reason for pictures of the bloody aftermath.

Wanda Peakes