Los Angelese Times editorial writer on "The curious blindness of climate deniers": "Mother Nature, meanwhile, is getting hot under the collar whether we want to talk about it or not"

The curious blindness of climate deniers - latimes.com

[Dan Turner] Climate change has seldom warranted a mention during the 2012 congressional campaigns, a sign both of the nation's changing priorities as it copes with an economic downturn and the extent to which conservative politicians and the fossil fuel industry have succeeded in sowing doubts about the scientific consensus. Mother Nature, meanwhile, is getting hot under the collar whether we want to talk about it or not. As the signs that the world is warming grow ever more unmistakable, one of the ironies of the American political debate on the topic is that leaders in the states being most heavily affected are often those least inclined to do anything about it, or even acknowledge that there's a problem.

Droughts in Texas and Louisiana, melting glaciers in Alaska and wildfires in Arizona -- with combined losses running into the tens of billions of dollars -- might lead some to conclude that fighting climate change would be cheaper than ignoring it. But such logicians probably aren't members of Congress from those states, many of whom have deep ties to the oil and gas industry or are simply philosophically opposed to environmental regulation. A picture -- or photo gallery -- of the resulting crises is worth a thousand words.

About The Times' editorial board - latimes.com

Dan Turner is an editorial writer who covers international news(with a particular focus on Africa and development), transportation(including ports and airports), law enforcement, corrections,energy, international trade and Hollywood.

Seven states, seven warning signs of global warming - latimes.com

On the fifth day, God let the Earth bring forth every kind of animal -- including mosquitoes. Some of them carry West Nile virus, which in 2012 has been reported in 48 states and has killed 118 people. The bulk of the outbreak, among the worst in the nation's history, is centered in Texas, but Oklahoma is in the top six states with 129 cases reported so far. When it comes to tropical diseases such as West Nile, warmer weather speeds up the process of production and infection -- increasing the population of mosquitoes, speeding their life cycle so that they reach biting age sooner, and rushing development of the virus within the bug's body. Other mosquito-borne illnesses, such as Dengue fever, are expected to become more common in the U.S. as global temperatures rise. Please, Lord, since you're the only one who can possibly solve this problem, send us down a tanker of thy DDT.

Seven states, seven warning signs of global warming - latimes.com

Alaskans can expect a future of bark beetle infestations, fires, coastal erosion and increasingly severe storms, according to NOAA.