Show evidence of success on climateThe state has spent billions fighting climate change, but it has not provided any measurement of the effectiveness of these expenditures on the climate.Oh, we have endless statistics on the reduction of CO2 emissions, but most of us are not interested in how successful the state government has been in depriving plants of the CO2 they need to produce oxygen.Rather we want to know what effect that our money has had in dealing with global warming.Could it be that the state has not documented a measurable effect of our billions on climate change because there are none?If you reflect on the size of the climate problem and the size of our efforts, it will be clear that our forgone billions could not have been expected to produce a measurable effect on the climate.If human-caused climate change is a serious concern, we would see discussion about how to reduce the world’s population.In fact, if you look at the full student parking lot at Bethlehem High School, you can see how seriously the climate problem is viewed by the locals in their unwillingness to do something as basic as using mass transportation for students.Fred BarneyAlbanyMore from The Daily Gazette:EDITORIAL: Find a way to get family members into nursing homesEDITORIAL: Thruway tax unfair to working motoristsEDITORIAL: Beware of voter intimidationGov. Andrew Cuomo’s press conference for Sunday, Oct. 18Foss: Should main downtown branch of the Schenectady County Public Library reopen? Categories: Letters to the Editor, OpinionTrump is fighting for a better AmericaIn his Oct. 18 letter (“Trumps trade policy fails in many ways”), Mr. Karandy was wrong in every way. On the tax cuts, even a Democrat can understand that if a person is paying $2 million a year in taxes and he gets a 2% cut, his savings is going to be greater than someone that pays $20,000 a year.The rich still pay way more than the rest of us do.On the Paris Climate Accord, Obama didn’t even bring the accord to a vote. It was a farce. Only the United States was going to have to make cuts in pollution. China and India, the two biggest polluters in the world, didn’t commit to any cuts. It was such a bad deal; Obama didn’t ask the Senate to ratify it because the Democrats that voted for it would have been destroyed at the ballot box.President Trump is the first American president to fight for us. China’s been stealing intellectual property for 50 years. President Trump is not backing down. He’s making China pay the same tariffs American companies pay that do business in China. I have no problem paying more. China needs us a lot more than we need them. His policies are working; they aren’t failing. If you would turn your channel from one of the DNC news networks, you would know the truth. Unlike Clinton or Obama, President Trump didn’t need this job. He took it because he loves this country.Dave EdwardsHalfmoonVets take oath to an idea, not peopleThere seems to be some confusion these days about patriotism and loyalty.We have seen decorated soldiers’ motives questioned as they answer questions under oath.I thought the time around Veteran’s Day would be a good time to comment.There are different oaths taken for an office or commission in different circumstances. Take, for example, “I will give my loyalty to the United Kingdom and respect its rights and freedoms…” in the case of her Majesty the Queen of England.Or, “I swear: I will be faithful and obedient to the leader of the German Reich and people … .” You know who that is.Here’s one I took when I was drafted, “I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic …”If I graduated from West Point and became an officer, it would have been the same. If I were fortunate enough to be elected to Congress, it would have said “… that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States …”My point is that we in this country pledge to protect a piece of paper — the Constitution — not royalty like a king or queen, not to a charismatic leader, but to an idea.The Founding Fathers put pen to paper in 1787 to give us the tools for a representative democracy so that we might govern ourselves in freedom.Our loyalties are to that idea, not a person. That idea is what veterans swear to defend.Paul DonahueSchenectady