Dear Editor:

President Trump deserves credit for what he did in Syria. Our Congresswoman Lucille Roybal Allard was correct when she said (4/13/17) that it was " the appropriate response to the Assad regime's despicable chemical attack." I agree.

The problem in Syria, however, goes beyond the war. This war is an example of the catastrophic consequences of climate change from global warming.

The costs of the war in Syria are staggering: It has claimed almost half a million lives, wounded close to 2 million people, generated 4.8 million refugees and displaced almost 7 million people within Syria.

As we look deeper into the causes of the Syrian war, one sees global warming as a principal one, perhaps the main one. 

Starting in 2006, Syria suffered its worst drought in 900 years; it ruined farms, forced as many as 1.5 million rural people to crowd into cities alongside Iraqi refugees and decimated the country’s livestock. Water became scarce and food expensive. The suffering and social chaos caused by the drought were important drivers of the initial unrest.

Climate scientists have stated that global warming very likely exacerbated the historic drought, thanks to potentially permanent changes to wind and rainfall patterns. 

Citizens' Climate Lobby (CCL), an organization of volunteers, is working to combat global warming with a proposal to put a federal price on carbon-based fossil fuels with all the fees collected returned to each household.

So, it is a welcome sign that our President is concerned about Syria and its children.

We hope our President will extend his concern to global warming and begin to act accordingly, for the protection of our country and our planet.

Guido Rivero
Downey