Have we seen global warming in Santa Maria? Yes, we have.

I remember yearly frosts on the lawn in the mornings after a below-freezing night. In previous years, I've lost plants to freezing weather.

But it hasn't happened in years. That could be a short-time anomaly, but likely it's the world warming, bit by bit.

If this can happen in a few years, imagine within your child's or grandchild's lifetime of 50, 60, or more years.

Higher temperatures send any rain water back into the atmosphere as water vapor. No groundwater means no agriculture, and that means no food for humans.

Hundreds of Guatemalans tried to enter the U.S. over the last two years because drought caused their crops to fail. They couldn't survive and in desperation tried to enter America.

These are early signs of global warming caused by excessive burning of fossil fuels, and it's happening faster than predicted.

In the decades ahead, unstoppable millions could come to our southern borders from Central and South America. By then, food may be scarce here, too.

Ask elected representatives—who are supposed to protect us at the local, state, and national level—exactly what are they doing to prevent certain chaos.

So far the answer is nothing. Emissions of CO2 in the U.S. are increasing, not decreasing.

William Gloege

Santa Maria