Balance science, politics
Leave it to the Bangor Daily News and our liberal press to publish every scary story suggesting runaway global warming and never anything that might offer a better answer, let alone the opposite conclusion (“Record melting seen in Greenland ice sheet,” BDN, Jan. 26).
It seems to me that at least two years of an unusually strong negative phase of the North Atlantic Oscillation, a recurring atmospheric phenomenon, could account for this. Greenland and Labrador have been experiencing a couple of very warm and dry winters, while the British Isles and northern Europe, like the American Mid-west and east coast, have been experiencing near-record cold and snow.
Will we ever read in our mainstream press of the remarkable findings recently from analysis of deep cores drilled into the great ice cap (project GISP2), that about 9,100 years of the approximately 10,500 years since the end of the last great ice age were warmer than it is now? To quote Don Easterbrook, glacial geologist and one of the involved scientists, “If … much more intense periods of warming occurred naturally in the past without increase in CO2, why should the mere coincidence of a small period of … warming in this century be blamed on CO2?”
We should ask for balanced reporting on this issue, but I fear that what we are reading now is dictated by politics, not science.
Alan W. Boone
Bangor
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Collins, the good fight
Three cheers for Sen. Susan Collins for all her work on truckers’ behalf on the bill of weight limits on I-95. This is a very serious safety and environmental concern, and this bill to keep these big six-axle, 100,000 pound trucks off the secondary roads is a winner in so many ways.
Why would all these “safety groups” be opposed to this? MADD and several others, some who have no business or dog in this fight, should have no place being so vocal about it. The railways come to mind.
I’m one of these drivers who have to drive the back roads of this great state, and let me tell you there is no safety or economy out there. It’s very hard on the drivers, equipment, tires, brakes, etc. Sen. Collins, we owe you so much for fighting this fight for us, and we can’t thank you enough for all your time and effort.
Dick Berry
Orono
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Reframe the debate
I think it’s time to compare the firearms which were in use when the Bill of Rights was written with the guns carried today by Second Amendment literalists. We are talking about muzzle loaded muskets.
To load one, you clean the barrel, then pour into it a measured amount of black powder. Then you put in the lead ball, then the paper wadding. Then you tamp all this down with the ramrod. Then you put powder into the flashpan. Then you cock, aim and fire. You are then surrounded by a cloud of black smoke.
The odds of your having hit what you aimed for are pretty low — this is a musket, not a rifle (they didn’t come into general use until the middle of the 19th century), and the smoke from previous shots obscures the target.
Then you go through the whole process all over again.
This is the firearm that Madison, et. al., guaranteed us the right to possess. I’m not too concerned about an occasional disturbed individual walking around with a muzzle loader. I’m very concerned, as are many of us, with disturbed individuals walking around with anything more sophisticated.
Let’s reframe the debate.
Flo Wilder
Hancock
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A good death
My wife Sarah died in November. She was 82 and had Alzheimer’s. She also had an ostemy late in her life.
Sarah had professional helpers in the mornings and evenings for the last 16 months of her life. But she mostly lived at home, and she suffered no pain.
We all must die, and for many of us death is, indeed, sad. Death early in life is devastating. So, often, is death from cancer.
We all need affection and love. Hospitals and nursing homes can offer facilities and skilled staff, but they cannot provide the presence of a spouse, children, close friend, or pet. Every night I was there for Sarah with the tender “good night” that brought a smile to her face.
Sarah had a wonderful temperament. She was rarely angry, and this certainly helped. There was the essential Sarah that was so valued by all who knew her. This lasted to her death. Certainly she gradually changed, but my son reminded me to think of what remained — not on what was lost.
Does Alzheimer’s decimate family financial resources? It can, but in our case it didn’t — because of Medicare and the fact that we relied primarily on home care.
I never spoke to Sarah as having Alzheimer’s or dementia. But sometimes, people forget how hurtful frank talk can be. Even when I had to stop Sarah from driving, I managed to do it without telling her why.
Sherman Hasbrouck
Orono
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Baxter authority woes
I am dismayed to hear of a bill (LD 55) that is being presented to the Legislature proposing to undo the agreement that was reached in 2006 on the Katahdin Lake lands. This bill would undermine the independence of the Baxter State Authority, which was set up by Gov. Baxter to administer the park independently of political factions. The bill demands that the park allow hunting in the 4,000 acres surrounding Katahdin Lake, which was purchased with public donations and made part of Baxter State Park to be a wilderness sanctuary as Gov. Baxter originally envisioned.
As part of the agreement, those who wish to hunt were granted nearly 2,000 acres next to Baxter State Park where they enjoy multiple uses of the land, including hunting.
LD 55 is a perfect example of the reason that Gov. Baxter set up the park authority as he did. He knew full well what people are capable of, given the opportunity. This bill is a clear case of unprincipled behavior that must not be rewarded.
I urge readers to contact legislators on the Agriculture, Conservation & Forestry Committee. Call and or write to them and urge them to vote “Ought Not to Pass” on LD 5. Contact info for ACF Committee members is at www.maine.gov/legis/house/jt_com/acf.htm.
Evelyn Dunphy
West Bath