‘Abhorrent’
Last week’s Sept. 20 Climate Strike was heartening evidence that millions of young people around the world take the threat of unmitigated climate change seriously, and they rightfully demand action to address it. In stark contrast, last week the Trump administration announced plans to rescind California’s longstanding vehicle fuel efficiency standards, which are stricter than those mandated by federal law and are helpful in reducing emissions of greenhouse gases and other pollutants. (California’s standards have also been adopted by Oregon, Washington, and 10 other states.) Republicans such as Trump traditionally have claimed that they support states’ rights. Now, however, they’re willing to suspend states’ rights — and to sacrifice the well-being of future generations — in order to exact political revenge. Their short-sighted, selfish behavior is abhorrent.
Richard Iverson
Hood River
Broadband bravo
“FCC authorizes $67.7 million for rural broadband” services in Oregon over the next 10 years.
Again, we find Greg Walden, working alongside FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, increasing Oregon’s affordable broadband services, e.g., telemedicine, remote learning, next generation emergency services, and video streaming because of insufficient Internet service.
To make Oregon greater!
Alan Winans
Hood River
Cultivate compassion
Nearly 40 percent of adults in the Columbia Gorge have a mental health condition, including drug and alcohol problems. However, talking about these issues can be hard.
That is why the Gorge Wellness Alliance (GWA), of which our organizations are participants and funders, is launching a public awareness campaign, Cultivate: Compassion. The goal for this campaign is to reduce the stigma surrounding the aforementioned issues.
The campaign will kick off with a free event on Sunday, Oct. 6 at 4 p.m. at the Columbia Center for the Arts in Hood River. There, the GWA will showcase a mini-documentary film featuring six locals speaking to their lived experiences with mental health conditions — and there will be a panel discussion afterward. Space is limited and seating will be provided on a first-come, first-serve basis. The event is best suited for ages 10-plus.
As most of us have experienced the impacts of mental health and substance abuse, whether directly or indirectly, this film and discussion could benefit you and your loved ones. Having you there in person will help show your commitment to having compassion for those with mental health conditions, including drug/alcohol problems and, importantly, to reducing stigma. It also shows a courageous willingness to simply try to understand.
Join us on Oct. 6! Let’s talk. Let’s listen. Let’s cultivate compassion.
Lucas O’Laughlin
One Community Health
Kirby Richards
Skamania County Community Health
Colleen Regalbuto
Gorge Wellness Alliance
Thunberg’s speech
Greta Thunberg’s UN Climate Speech (abbreviated):
“People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money, and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you?
“For more than 30 years, the science has been crystal clear. How dare you continue to look away, and come here saying that you’re doing enough, when the politics and solutions needed are still nowhere in sight? Because if you really understood the situation and still kept on failing to act, then you would be evil.
“The popular idea of cutting our emissions in half in 10 years only gives us a 50 percent chance of staying below 1.5 degrees and the risk of setting off irreversible chain reactions beyond human control. Fifty percent may be acceptable to you. But those numbers do not include tipping points, most feedback loops, additional warming hidden by toxic air pollution, or the aspects of equity and climate justice. They also rely on my generation sucking hundreds of billions of tons of your CO2 out of the air with technologies that barely exist.
“So, a 50 percent risk is simply not acceptable to us — we who have to live with the consequences. To have a 67 percent chance of staying below a 1.5-degree global temperature rise — the best odds given by the IPCC the world had 420 gigatons of CO2 left to emit back on 1/1/18. Today that figure is down to less than 350 gigatons.
“How dare you pretend that this can be solved with just ‘business as usual’ and some technical solutions? With today’s emissions levels, that remaining CO2 budget will be entirely gone within less than eight and a half years.
“There will not be any solutions or plans presented in line with these figures here today, because these numbers are too uncomfortable. And you are still not mature enough to tell it like it is.
“You are failing us.”
David Michalek
Hood River
Prioritize the environment
I recently traveled to the Canadian Maritimes. In exchanges with Canadians, I was struck by their overwhelming belief in the climate crises and their support of aggressive action by their government.
The Canadian federal government implemented a nationwide carbon price or tax. Since it sets a definite price on greenhouse gas emissions, there is a guaranteed return on expensive efficiency investments.
In the U.S., residents pay a hidden climate tax imposed haphazardly on those unlucky enough to suffer the ravages of extreme weather or other climate related harms.
The Trump administration continues to dismantle environmental protections. While pandering to his base, he ignores the rest of us who heed the warnings of the scientific community. Our policy makers need to enact coherent legislation. We need to support those who prioritize the environment.
Debbie Kelly
Hood River
‘Kudos’
Kudos to Donald Rose for providing real-life examples for my second semester writing course on argumentation and source evaluation.
Mr. Rose, in the Sept. 25 issue (Letters to the Editor, “No Crisis”), makes large claims based on two sources: climatdepot.com and a book by Marc Merano.
Actually, both sources are Marc Merano; he is the author of the book and the webmaster of climatedepot.com, an aggregate “news” site that promotes climate denial and provides links that do the same. The linked sources are fraught with ads, animation, rainbow font, and misinformation. Merano himself admits that he has no education in climate science. In my class, it is unacceptable to base a claim on this type of non-credible source, though it will make an excellent example of what not to do.
Rose’s claims were rather large and unspecific. For example, Claim 7 says simply that “Many of the dire predictions have not occurred.” He ignores the fact that many, many have occurred and are occurring with increasing damage every day, week, month, and year.
When he says that, “The Antarctica” is getting colder, I believe he meant “Antarctica;” this is a great example of how the quality of one’s writing can affect one’s authorial ethos.
It also conveniently ignores the fact that more than 95 percent of scientists disagree with this claim. His other claims are not backed up by evidence accepted by science.
Today’s teenagers know this, and Donald Rose does not. Thank goodness the kids are doing something about it. While I do not condone missing school, I am grateful that they care enough to do something about climate change. I am also grateful to Mr. Rose for providing these examples of what not to do when building a credible argument.
Nan Noteboom
Hood River
‘Habit’
Apparently, there is some debate as to who it was that actually placed the lanterns in the belfry tower of Boston’s Old North Church, thereby flashing the alarm that the British were out and taking to their boats in advance of a march upon Lexington and Concord.
At least one source, while affirming the truth of the “midnight ride of Paul Revere” suggests that before taking to horse Revere, being a patriot spy, first placed the lanterns himself, thereby alerting other riders to also “spread the alarm.”
I was reminded of Paul Revere this morning upon learning that our president is lamenting the passing of the good old days when spies were hung; this in response to an alarm sounded by a yet to be identified whistle-blower.
We’ve seen lanterns before. Flashes of disbelief and a call to action upon learning of the abuse of power.
I remember the delightful remake of the film “Sabrina,” and in particular the scene where the outrage of the younger brother vents upon the older who has just confessed to having abused his trust as the head of both a family and a corporation by manipulating and lying to a naive young woman whom he feared was coming in the way of a merger.
The scene goes:
Younger brother: “How could you Linus? How could you go that far? What makes you think you have the right?”
Older brother: “Habit.”
Robert White
Mt. Hood-Parkdale
Support Global Fund
Kudos to Carolyn Barber for calling attention to the world’s most effective force to battle pandemic disease: The Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis (TB) and Malaria (“Help fight AIDS crisis,” Letters to the Editor for Sept. 25). Few people realize that the U.S. spends less than one half of 1 percent of our entire federal budget on global health (theglobalfight.org).
Yet, the Global Fund strengthens global health care systems to curtail sudden outbreaks such as Ebola, increases stability in fragile countries and engenders economic benefits by protecting the health of breadwinners and their families. Poverty is both a cause and a result of disease.
Growing resistance, under-funding and diminishing political will threatens the Global Fund’s progress. Extremely drug-resistant, infectious air-borne TB has been documented in over 77 countries, including our own.
Bills in the U.S. House and Senate merely ask for our continued financial pittance support for the Global Fund. It’s unconscionable and counter-productive not to support it.
Donna Schindler-Munro
Bremerton, Wash.
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