Recently, the Atascadero City Council approved an amended Climate Action Plan, after it was gutted by members of the council, following public comment by climate change deniers. Several people, myself included, spoke in vain, encouraging the council to restore the original language, which supported the position of 97 percent of climate scientists, who contend that climate change exists, due to CO2 gas, generated through combustion of fossil fuels.

Following comment, Councilwoman Roberta Fonzi chastised Dr. Michael Latner for calling her a censor, stating that the changes to the CAP occurred after public input, in accordance with the Brown Act. I looked up the definition of censor in my 1980 copy of Random House College Dictionary, which reads: “censor, noun, an official who examines books, plays, etc., for the purpose of suppressing parts deemed objectionable on moral, political, military, or other grounds.” Nothing in this definition mentions transparency or due process as disqualifiers in being labeled a censor.

Therefore, as one of two councilwomen (along with Heather Moreno) who stripped objectionable climate change verbiage from the CAP, Fonzi is indeed a censor. Although being identified as one may be a burr in her saddle, the weakened CAP she co-created is a major thorn in the collective derriere of we Atascaderans who favor intelligence over ignorance. This weakened document takes away the spirit and rationale of AB 32, which requires cities to have CAPs, and makes Atascadero liable for lack of preparedness in responding to the consequences of global climate change.

-- Jon Edward Reid - Atascadero