It’s not just the humidity. It’s also the heat.

People understand that methane is one of the major contributors to heat in our atmosphere, 80 times more harmful than carbon dioxide (for the first 20 years). A major source of methane is the livestock industry. This is not a small problem. Right now, we have 8 billion humans on Earth and nearly 1 billion cattle. That’s a lot of methane.

One simple action we can take: Give up meat one day per week. If the U.S. population did this for just one year, that would be equivalent to taking 7.6 million gas-powered cars off the road. Talk about an enormous dent in greenhouse gas.

Jane DeMarines, Bethesda

The writer is the executive director of Climate Diet.

So much heat. We are baking our planet, with no end in sight. Meanwhile, the fossil fuel industry continues to expand. Yes, we need oil and gas as we transition to clean energy, but our government should stop subsidizing that industry and stop opening more areas to mining and drilling.

What we should be doing instead is placing a per-ton fee on carbon emissions at the mine or well. To protect consumers from higher prices, return the funds from this fee to them. In addition, many clean energy projects await permits. Those should be expedited.

I want my children and grandchildren to be able to enjoy nature during the summer, and I think our congressional representatives do too. Let’s be sure that we have climate champions in Congress by voting them in.

Maggie Wineburgh-Freed, Los Angeles

The July 17 Wednesday Opinion column “You think it’s hot? Wait until we measure temperature correctly.,” on the impact of heat on the human body and measuring heat with three thermometers, was interesting, but I fear it will only result in more confusion over measuring temperature and heat.

We all know the expression “It’s not the heat; it’s the humidity.” In 1978, fellow meteorologist George Winterling created a system he named “humiture” to measure the heating effects of temperature and humidity. It’s simple to understand and easy to calculate in your head. I showed the humiture for many years and encouraged friends at the National Weather Service to adopt it as “how hot it feels,” but it became the “heat index.”

The air temperature is an absolute measure of heat. The dew point (the temperature at which dew or fog forms) is an absolute measure of humidity. We really start to notice the summer humidity when the dew point is above 65 degrees. Subtract 65 from the current dew point, and add the difference to the air temperature. That’s essentially the humiture or heat index. Simple? I hope so.

During our recent heat wave, the temperature was 100 degrees and the dew point was 75 degrees. Therefore, the humiture was 110 degrees.

Is simpler better, even if it may not feel cooler?

Bob Ryan, McLean

The writer is a former meteorologist and former president of the American Meteorological Society.

Thank you for highlighting the dire consequences of the recent extreme heat wave in the July 11 article “Dozens killed in past week amid scorching U.S. heat wave.” This is a grim reminder that the climate crisis is at our doorstep, with at least two deaths right here in Maryland. The sweltering temperatures we’ve all endured in the region are becoming more frequent and severe. Hundreds of heat records were shattered across the United States during July alone.

Public policy leaders recognize the urgency of this crisis and are trying to take action. The Biden-Harris administration recently proposed new Occupational Safety and Health Administration rules designed to protect 36 million workers from extreme heat and related injuries and death. Still, much more is needed to protect vulnerable Americans, including nonworking populations such as children and the elderly.

Dealing with extreme heat is costly, and state budgets are already strained by the demands of other climate-related disasters. Fortunately, Maryland has a solution: the Responding to Emergency Needs From Extreme Weather Act. This legislation aims to hold polluters accountable for the climate crisis by requiring them to pay for vital mitigation solutions. This much-needed funding could, for example, help pay for air conditioning in schools and nursing homes — without costing taxpayers a penny.

The state legislatures in Vermont and New York have passed similar measures. Now it’s time for Maryland to do the same.

Jamie DeMarco, College Park

The writer is the Maryland director at the Chesapeake Climate Action Network.

Climates across the world

Regarding Eugene Robinson’s June 21 Friday Opinion column, “A climate solution called hope”:

Nations in southern Africa need our help now as drought is causing severe food shortages. Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe have declared national emergencies from the lack of rainfall caused by the El Niño weather phenomenon.

Southern Africa is a region already devastated by climate change, and it lacks the resources to cope with extreme drought. Nearly 5 million people (more than the entire population of Louisiana) are in desperate need of food aid.

Families that are already struggling in poverty have lost their lifeline: farming. The impoverished farmers do not have irrigation systems or other ways to cope with drought. Food reserves are not enough.

The World Food Program in Malawi is reporting a surge in cases of malnutrition among children at health clinics. Parents are not eating to try and save food for their children.

These people need our help. The international community needs to step up donations for Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe and any other southern African nations affected by drought. We should advocate for emergency food rations, nutrition programs for infants and school feeding programs for kids. In addition to emergency aid, there should be agricultural support to help farmers better cope with drought in the future.

William Lambers, Cincinnati

The writer is author of the book “Ending World Hunger.”

SNAP errors harm families

I’m writing in response to the July 3 Metro article “D.C. faces federal fine over snags with SNAP,” about the $4.4 million penalty for persistent errors in processing critical food assistance benefits. In the article, the Agriculture Department named D.C. one of the worst-performing states or territories nationwide regarding how it handles SNAP benefit cases.

I recently completed a policy brief on the Healthy Food Financing Initiative Reauthorization Act of 2023. More than 40 million Americans live in underserved communities and do not have access to high-quality food — or the financial means to purchase it. This leads to health disparities in these communities.

In the D.C. case, SNAP recipients were either overpaid or underpaid. It’s important to ensure that each family that relies on SNAP benefits has enough benefits each month. These vital benefits provide better access to quality foods, without which the disparities in healthy communities will only grow.

Dyral Brown, Alexandria

Colbert I. King was right on target with his July 6 op-ed, “Why is D.C.’s food aid system so dysfunctional?” But there’s even more to the story.

First, there’s plenty of shame to go around. Forty-four states and D.C. are failing to meet Agriculture Department requirements for application processing. Second, it would be unfair to place all of the blame on D.C. or any one state. Though states are responsible for implementing and paying half of the associated costs, SNAP is one of the few federally funded, state-administered benefits programs that does not avail states the flexibility to use contractors or other outside assistance. This makes it hard to meet surges in demand and to augment state personnel where workforce shortfalls are intractable — which today includes many, if not most, states. This inflexibility makes no sense. It is in no small part the reason states are not meeting required processing times and why error rates are so high.

Instead, SNAP and all other such programs should establish immutable guardrails and performance requirements — processing times, payment accuracy and overall customer satisfaction — and then allow states the room to administer the programs in ways that align best with their own individual circumstances. That would be in the best interests of the taxpayer and beneficiaries alike.

Fortunately, there is an opportunity today to address this problem. The House version of the Farm Bill contains language that would give states this flexibility. Consistent with the recommendations of numerous organizations representing state government officials, as well as a 2023 report from the National Academy of Public Administration, Congress should do the right thing and authorize more performance-centric and flexible administrative rules. Otherwise, the shame will be theirs.

Stan Soloway, Washington

The writer is a fellow and vice chairman of the National Academy of Public Administration.