Letter of the day: For those fighting climate change, accepting it is a cop-out

Dealing with the impact of climate change is a cop-out to those of us who have worked hard to ameliorate it ("Getting real about a warmer, wetter Minnesota," Sept. 16). We have reduced our reproduction, improved our energy efficiency, lived without air conditioning, minimized or eliminated the use of single-occupancy vehicles, reduced our consumption of frivolous goods, and increased vegetarianism and the purchase of local and organic foods. Doing these simple things has reduced our carbon footprints by at 5 to 10 tons per year. And, no, we don't live in caves. By accepting climate change, we acknowledge that humans will continue to wantonly consume the earth's resources. Of course, humans are one of the few species who can deal with it: We have the ability to alter habitat, whereas most species of animals and plants need hundreds or thousands of years to evolve into a new niche. So it seems rather than protecting the wildlife many of us love and admire, we will carry on at its expense, leading in many cases to its extinction. CATHERINE ZIMMER, ST. Paul