If we don’t step up and take care of our planet, who will?
letter to the editor
To the Editor:
As an independent voter, I was willing to give the POTUS a chance, but I am deeply discouraged and disappointed. Forget the Russia thing, the blatant lies coming out of this administration are unfathomable. What I am most upset about, is the attack on our environment. I'm not talking about climate change. I'm talking about the environment. How many folks reading this are aware that the POTUS overturned Obama's "Fair Chase Act?" In other words, hunters will now be able to go into the Alaskan wildlife refuge and kill entire families of bears and wolves in their dens while they are hibernating. Who exactly does this benefit? The NRA, Safari Club and other hunting clubs, that's who. Killing animals in a wildlife refuge, an area where they are supposed to be protected, is despicable. No real hunter I know of approves of this barbaric act.
The attack on the EPA is shameful. Hiring Scott Pruitt, a man who has sued the EPA several times, as administrator of the EPA is unprecedented. One of his first moves was choosing not to ban the pollinator killing insecticide Chlorpyrifos. Honey bees are responsible for pollinating over a hundred crops. Everything from apples to zucchini and contribute $30 billion a year to the food industry. They are dying by the tens of millions due to pesticides on our crops, flower gardens and colony collapse disorder (CCD). When the bees are gone, humans will follow. No bees, no humans. It's that simple. Our oceans are overfished, there is a cattle shortage. So to the folks who think the environment should be put on the back burner... We can't eat money.
To the folks who actually care, I suggest avoiding places like Lowe's, Home Depot and other department store gardening centers. The seeds are treated with insecticides that remain in the plants, killing pollinators for up to five years. Purchase plants that are not treated with neonicotinoids (or neo-nicotine-oids). Planting from the gardens of friends or relatives who don't use pesticides is also a good way to go. It may take a little research but it's worth the extra effort.
I'm also disappointed with our POTUS for turning his nose up at renewable energy jobs. Instead of creating millions of new jobs, he's propping up a dying coal industry. Those folks can be trained in clean energy jobs. Trump overturned the bill on mining waste. How does dumping mining waste into streams and local waterways benefit anyone except the big polluters? I can't speak for anyone else but I prefer clean water and air. Folks, we have to take it upon ourselves to rescue our planet by going organic, recycling and doing what we can to reduce our carbon footprint. If we don't do it, who will?
Maria McGlashan
Lodi
As an independent voter, I was willing to give the POTUS a chance, but I am deeply discouraged and disappointed. Forget the Russia thing, the blatant lies coming out of this administration are unfathomable. What I am most upset about, is the attack on our environment. I'm not talking about climate change. I'm talking about the environment. How many folks reading this are aware that the POTUS overturned Obama's "Fair Chase Act?" In other words, hunters will now be able to go into the Alaskan wildlife refuge and kill entire families of bears and wolves in their dens while they are hibernating. Who exactly does this benefit? The NRA, Safari Club and other hunting clubs, that's who. Killing animals in a wildlife refuge, an area where they are supposed to be protected, is despicable. No real hunter I know of approves of this barbaric act.
The attack on the EPA is shameful. Hiring Scott Pruitt, a man who has sued the EPA several times, as administrator of the EPA is unprecedented. One of his first moves was choosing not to ban the pollinator killing insecticide Chlorpyrifos. Honey bees are responsible for pollinating over a hundred crops. Everything from apples to zucchini and contribute $30 billion a year to the food industry. They are dying by the tens of millions due to pesticides on our crops, flower gardens and colony collapse disorder (CCD). When the bees are gone, humans will follow. No bees, no humans. It's that simple. Our oceans are overfished, there is a cattle shortage. So to the folks who think the environment should be put on the back burner... We can't eat money.
To the folks who actually care, I suggest avoiding places like Lowe's, Home Depot and other department store gardening centers. The seeds are treated with insecticides that remain in the plants, killing pollinators for up to five years. Purchase plants that are not treated with neonicotinoids (or neo-nicotine-oids). Planting from the gardens of friends or relatives who don't use pesticides is also a good way to go. It may take a little research but it's worth the extra effort.
I'm also disappointed with our POTUS for turning his nose up at renewable energy jobs. Instead of creating millions of new jobs, he's propping up a dying coal industry. Those folks can be trained in clean energy jobs. Trump overturned the bill on mining waste. How does dumping mining waste into streams and local waterways benefit anyone except the big polluters? I can't speak for anyone else but I prefer clean water and air. Folks, we have to take it upon ourselves to rescue our planet by going organic, recycling and doing what we can to reduce our carbon footprint. If we don't do it, who will?
Maria McGlashan
Lodi
