A12 THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 26, 2020 LATIMES.COM/OPINION
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ow do we givethanks in a year
like 2020, when even our ability
simply to sit down with friends
and family on the fourth Thurs-
day in November and dig in to a
feast is an exercise in risk management?
This year has objectively been the tough-
est for the U.S. in recent history, and it’s not
over yet. 2020 began with the arrival of a
plague that our unprepared country met
with dangerous ineptitude, leading to incal-
culable human loss and suffering. Midway
through, catastrophic fires in the West
underscored the fact that we are losing the
climate change race. The terribleness was
punctuated by massive civil unrest driven by
unresolved structural racism, political divi-
sion so deep that people maimed and killed
one another over face masks, and an ex-
traordinarily antagonistic presidential cam-
paign that continues somehow to this day.
And now as we head deeper into the holiday
season, with the virus surging again and
more shutdowns looming, millions of jobless
Americans are about to run out of unem-
ployment benefits.
Yes, it’s dark times indeed, but as Ameri-
cans sit down alone or in small groups of
family for the annual Thanksgiving meal,
there are still reasons to raise a glass and
count blessings (and not just that 2020 will
be over soon).
Foremost is that the COVID-19 pandemic
hasn’t been worse. This is not to diminish
the deaths of more than 260,000 people in
the U.S. and 1.4 million globally. But remem-
ber, last winter scientists worried that this
novel coronavirus could be extremely
deadly, like its recent cousin viruses SARS
and MERS, and could kill many millions be-
fore it was brought under control.
That it wasn’t the plague on the scale
with our worst fears is not only due to the
nature of SARS-CoV-2, which is more conta-
gious but less lethal than its precursors, but
also because of the work of so many people
who cared for the sick when most people
were hunkering down at home. That in-
cludes the doctors and nurses, of course,
but also the underappreciated healthcare
workers toiling for low pay in nursing
homes, clinics and other facilities who kept
coming to work even when they lacked ade-
quate protective gear and knew it could cost
them their lives. Indeed, for many hundreds
of healthcare workers, it did. We are grateful
for their sacrifice, as well as that of the other
unsung heroes of the pandemic: grocery
store clerks, delivery drivers, test-site
staffers and too many others to list whose
work put them in harm’s way.
Even the bad news can be the source of
gratitude if it leads to positive change. Ca-
lamity has a way of clarifying what’s most
important (hugging loved ones, political
stability and — who knew? — toilet paper)
and forcing us to face hard truths. This year,
the pandemic revealed that an employ-
ment-based healthcare system can crumble
when it’s most needed; that warehousing
our elderly is not just unkind but deadly;
that our social safety nets have been danger-
ously frayed by the complacency of a long
economic expansion; and that policies that
perpetuate racial and economic disparity
are still deeply embedded in our society. Ac-
knowledging the things that are broken is
the first step in fixing them.
And if nothing else, this would be the
year to thank science and scientists who
have, once again, served humanity, despite
ruthless rhetorical attacks from those who
didn’t wish to hear the truth about the virus.
In a matter of months, virologists, epidemi-
ologists and immunologists, among many
others, developed crucial knowledge to fight
the pandemic and produced several promis-
ing vaccine candidates.
It gives us real hope that by this time
next year we will be free again to gather in
large and joyous groups, to sing loudly with-
out fear, to simply embrace and hold close
those people who haven’t been lost in this
bad, bad year. Thatwill be a Thanksgiving
to remember.Gratitude in a truly awful year
Despite the strife and staggering
death toll, there are reasons to be
thankful as 2020 winds down.
T
he election of Joe Biden as
president signals a return to
sanity in the federal govern-
ment’s approach to climate
change. For starters, Biden at
least recognizes the severity of global warm-
ing’s impact on the people who are feeding it
— us — and has vowed to confront it head on
with ambitious programs aimed at shifting
the nation to renewable energy sources and
decreasing carbon emissions.
And he’s off to a good start by appointing
John F. Kerry as a special climate diplomat;
as President Obama’s secretary of State,
Kerry was instrumental in creating the 2015
Paris agreement. We are heartened, too, by
Biden’s statement Tuesday that Kerry’s ap-
pointment “will be matched with a high-lev-
el White House climate policy coordinator
and policymaking structure — to be an-
nounced in December — that will lead ef-
forts here in the U.S. to combat the climate
crisis and mobilize action to meet this exist-
ential threat.”
But any measure of success will require
more than a change in administrations. We
need a change in the public will as well, be-
cause limiting the worst consequences of
global warming will be expensive and re-
quire sacrifices as we fundamentally alter
how we produce and consume energy.
Biden will start that transition as soon as
he takes the oath of office by focusing cli-
mate and energy polices on human impacts
rather than on shoring up the fossil fuel in-
dustries. He also intends to integrate efforts
to fight climate change across all federal
agencies, not just those with jurisdiction
over environmental issues. The newly cre-
ated post in the White House will be tasked
with coordinating it all, a practical move
that emphasizes the issue’s importance.
The Trump administration’s energy pol-
icy was simple and direct: Drill more, sell
more, burn more while rolling back
regulations through decisions that margin-
alized the effects of extracting and burning
fossil fuels on public health. In fact, the ad-
ministration is speeding up the issuance of
oil leases in the Arctic National Wildlife Ref-
uge in hopes of selling them off before Presi-
dent Trump leaves office, despite clear evi-
dence that the nation needs to reduce such
production and instead invest in renewable
energy. Fortunately, drilling in the refuge
will face significant legal and market head-
winds that may negate such maneuvers.
The first thing Biden needs to do is fulfill
his promise to rejoin the 2015 Paris climate
accord, which Trump jettisoned as “unfair”
to the U.S. It was a spurious excuse to make
it easier for the nation’s — and the world’s —
oil and gas industries to continue to profit
by extracting and selling fossil fuels. Nota-
bly, many of the corporations involved in the
industry recognize the science — some,
such as Exxon Mobil, knew decades ago but
sought to squelch the information and spin
knowingly false public narratives to sow
public doubt about the findings of climate
researchers.
Industry leaders also have begun to
respond to the growing public demand, in-
cluding by some major institutional in-
vestors, to end our reliance on fossil fuels as
quickly as possible. BP, one of the world’s
largest oil and gas companies, and Royal
Dutch Shell are both trying to move away
from their histories and reposition them-
selves as renewable energy businesses, per-
haps the most ambitious efforts in a broader
refocus by industry leaders. But it’s not an
easy transition to make when revenues from
oil production decline as the need for cash
investment in renewable energy increases.
The big question, of course, is how much
more quickly can the industry, and consum-
ers, act? In the U.S. alone we rely to a dis-
turbing extent on internal combustion en-
gines to power motor vehicles and natural
gas or oil to heat our homes, cook our food
and power our factories.
It will be expensive to undo that, with
motor vehicles sold today lasting a dozen
years and with millions of American homes
built for gas furnaces rather than electric
heat. Also, we still rely too much on natural
gas (and coal, decreasingly) to generate the
electricity that, if we shift to more sustain-
able appliances, we will only need more of.
We noted recently the importance of Bid-
en reestablishing science as a driving force
in forming federal policies. But he also will
need to resurrect the Environmental Pro-
tection Agency as a regulator rather than an
agent in undoing necessary protections,
broadly restoring the government’s role in
protecting public health from the danger-
ous excesses of polluters.
There is a long list of other necessary
steps for the new president to take to pro-
tect the environment and confront climate
change — reinstating regulations protect-
ing public lands where warranted from
drilling, logging and mining, restoring me-
thane emissions rules for wells on federal
lands, ramping up fuel efficiency standards
for motor vehicles and reviving the Obama-
era Clean Power Plan to reduce carbon
emissions from power plants, to name a few.
But the most significant role Biden can
play as president is to try to resurrect the
U.S. as a serious world leader in combating
climate change, and to propel us down an
irreversible path toward a safer and more
sustainable future.
That will require some cheerleading and
cajoling but also serious science-framed vi-
sion and a significant level of political will.
The vast majority of Americans already rec-
ognize the reality the world faces. Leading
the way forward will be Biden’s most impor-
tant challenge, and it could be his most sig-
nificant legacy.Biden’s new course on climate
As you sit down to cele-
brate Thanksgiving, please
raise a glass in remem-
brance of the 260,000 peo-
ple who will not have the
opportunity to do so today
and their families due to
the utter incompetence of
President Trump.
Leslie Howard
Marina del Rey::
Healing the soul of
America cannot be left to
one president or adminis-
tration. It will require the
ongoing good faith and
actions of many Americans
of all parties and faiths, all
ages and races.
It will require making
the repairing and healing
of relationships, where
strained, a priority.
We don’t have to wait
until Jan. 20, 2021. We can
begin now, on Thanksgiv-
ing Day, by naming and
giving thanks for the bless-
ings we share. Among
them are those inalienable
rights to life, liberty and
the pursuit of happiness.
When we find ourselves
saying thank you for these
and other common bless-
ings, we will soon realize
that we are less divided
than we think or are told.
John Saville
CoronaOur selfish ways
are killing people
Re “A plea from front lines
of the pandemic,” Opinion,
Nov. 24Emergency physician
Dr. Mark Morocco writes,
“It didn’t have to be this
way.” I have been saying
that for months, referring
to our leader, President
Trump, as a mass killer
because his neglect and
poor role-modeling have
led to thousands of pre-
ventable deaths.
Yet, the dead are dead.
The Times’ profiles of
COVID-19 victims have
vividly portrayed the lives
some of them led. In David
Iribarne’s profile, which
was published Nov. 20, his
sister Nancy Gervais said,
“I think it’s important that
you tell people’s stories.
They’re not numbers —
they’re people.”
The selfishness con-
veyed by people who will
not wear masks is unfath-
omable. I was recently
watching TV when I saw
one belligerent, unmasked
white man, in a shoulder-
to-shoulder crowd of pro-
testers, wearing a T-shirt
proclaiming, “Selfish and
Proud.” If infected, he
might never know whom
his selfishness killed.
Thank you, Dr. Morocco
and all front-line workers,
for your heroic efforts.
Jana Shaker
Riverside::
Well said, Dr. Morocco.
Real patriotism isn’t
shouting about personal
liberty and declaring the
pandemic a hoax. Real
patriotism is saving the
lives of your fellow country-
men by wearing a mask
and following public health
guidelines.
It seems very little to
ask for a huge return, espe-cially when professionals
like Dr. Morocco are out
there on the front lines
really being heroes.
Joseph Devlin
Anaheim::
Dr. Morocco’s article
was the most impassioned,
spot-on testament I have
ever read. Bravo.
Like him, I was on the
front lines of a pandemic.
As a firefighter, I was ac-
customed to the danger I
faced going into burning
buildings. But, I felt no
such jeopardy as an EMT
when treating patients
experiencing medical
emergencies.
But in 1982, firefighters
were shocked to learn that
the newly discovered AIDS
disease was a killer. At the
time we did not use protec-
tive equipment when treat-
ing people in the field, so
we had to adopt an entirely
new respect for the dan-
gers we faced as EMTs.
My experience then has
affected my response to
COVID-19. As a retired
firefighter, I had to be told
only once to wear a mask,
practice social distancing
and wash my hands. But, I
can imagine how non-
emergency personnel may
scoff at taking these pro-
tective measures.
The people flouting
COVID-19 guidelines are
blind to a killer in their
midst. Dr. Morocco’s op-ed
article is the light they
need to find a way to re-
sponsible, adult behavior.
Bill Smart
Santa BarbaraGovernor, stay
in Sacramento
Re “Newsom could look at
man in mirror,” column,
Nov. 23When I read George
Skelton’s column suggesti-
ng it may not be a bad for
Gov. Gavin Newsom to
take Willie Brown’s advice
and appoint himself sen-
ator, I was shocked that
The Times would publish
something so irresponsi-
ble.
Promoting something
so unethical would be bad
in normal times, but in the
current situation, as the
president attempts to
overturn an election and
Democrats may be ques-
tioning the value of playing
by the rules, such an idea is
incredibly dangerous.
The fact that such a
thing is not technically
illegal is no excuse, and it
actually makes the sug-
gestion worse. It means
that responsible journal-
ism is our primary safe-
guard against the further
erosion of our democracy.
Jonathan Gross
Los Angeles::
Brown, the former
longtime state Assembly
speaker and mayor of San
Francisco, is by reputation
the kind of self-serving
politician that California
and the nation can no
longer endure.
Newsom, a promising
candidate for the presi-
dency in 2024, first needs to
demonstrate that he is aneffective executive of the
world’s fifth largest econo-
my, especially after inflict-
ing heavy damage on him-
self during the COVID-
crisis.
To run for cover to a less
important U.S. Senate seat
would be irresponsible.
Voters would rightly reject
him if he ran for president.
Newsom can be an
innovator as governor or a
caretaker as senator.
Playing musical chairs is
unworthy of the leader of
such a great state, and it
sets a bad example for the
nation.
Bruce Cort Daniels
Running Springs, Calif.::
It would be terrible for
California for Newsom to
appoint a “caretaker”
senator. He should appoint
a young person, relatively
speaking, who will have a
chance to serve for a long
time, gaining seniority and
power for the benefit of
California.
Further, Vice President-
elect Kamala Harris
should resign sooner
rather than later from the
Senate, allowing Cali-
fornia’s newly appointed
senator to gain some sen-
iority before the newest
class arrives in Washing-
ton.
Norman H. Green
Los AngelesPolluters pay,
not the people
Re “The next steps on
plastic trash,” editorial,
Nov. 22A one-penny tax on
disposable plastic to be
voted on in 2022 does not
leave me optimistic that
California will finally get a
handle on its trash prob-
lem.
It seems unfair to pass a
tax that will affect poor
people the most. Our plas-
tic problem was caused by
free-market capitalism and
the corporate welfare state,
and the cleanup should be
funded by those who prof-
ited from it.
First, we need to stop all
subsidies for the fossil fuel
industry so that the price
of “disposable” plastic, a
petroleum product, re-
flects the true cost.
Second, we need to
make the shareholders of
the companies that profit
from cheap plastic pay for
the cleanup. We should not
make poor people pay.
The plastic we put into
the environment today will
need to be cleaned up by
our descendants hundreds
of years from now, and that
is hugely unfair. People
have gotten rich because of
plastic pollution, and we
need to make them pay for
the cleanup.
Brent Trafton
Long Beach::
Instead of waiting for
laws than ban disposable
plastics, I’ve taken this
pollution problem to be my
household’s personal
problem.
Replacing plastic con-
tainers is easy. Laundry
strips that come in a card-
board container replace
detergent in plastic bottles.
Bars of soap replace con-
tainers of liquid hand and
dish soap. Shampoo and
conditioner in bar form can
be used in lieu of liquid sold
in plastic bottles.
Vote for a better envi-
ronment with your wallet.
Manufacturers and retail-
ers will follow the money.
Carole Daley
Laguna BeachRelief, finally
Re “Trump clears path for
Biden transition plan,”
Nov. 24Reading that the official
transition to the Joe Biden
presidency could begin felt
like putting a soothing
balm on a raw wound.
The wound is far from
healed, but the prospect of
a competent and experi-
enced administration
taking over gives me hope
and some peace of mind.
Marty Wilson
WhittierGiving thanks, apart
Re “Thanksgiving amid COVID,” editorial, Nov. 22COVID-19 and politics have made this a tough time to
be alive. I’m celebrating Thanksgiving with a close friend
who has been very careful about staying healthy.
I usually share the holidays with my family in Santa
Barbara, but this year I proposed postponing
Thanksgiving dinner until after we have been vaccinated
against COVID-19 and it is safe to gather. It won’t make
up for the turmoil of 2020, but it can help guide us toward
the path to normal.
I’m looking forward to two great family dinners and a
healthier world in 2021. Please, be patient and follow
recommendations from the U.S. Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention. We can get past this.
Dean Blau
Lake BalboaChristina HouseLos Angeles Times
A WORKERprepares food for delivery at Ingle-
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