Global warming giving us more extreme events
What a year we’ve had! Weather took out 80 percent of Georgia’s peach and blueberry crops, Harvey drowned Houston, and Irma walloped Florida and sent the winds to us. And wildfires burned California for the second time, thanks to drought-stricken plants.
Why? Climate change is here, folks! As long as we don’t change our burning of fossil fuels, our weather will give us more and more extreme events, also known as “global weirding.”
Good news is that 62 Congressmen, half Republicans and half Democrats, agree that it’s a problem. (Too bad none are from Georgia.) A steadily rising fee on carbon emissions would use the free market to cut greenhouse gases. If it’s all returned evenly to all households, everyone can afford the energy. We will create more jobs in Georgia if we capture sunshine instead of sending our money out-of-state for coal and oil.
HENRY SLACK, DECATUR
Atlanta choking on traffic congestion
I’m fortunate in a way that I can choose what times during the week I get out to drive in Atlanta. It is from 9:30 to 11:30 a.m. and from 1 to 2:30 p.m. Living in town seems good, but not a guarantee of missing out on some snarl-up. There have been decades of hostile neglect from legislators, not just those from outside the metro area, but some just a stone’s throw from downtown. The patchwork mass transit approach is transparent in design and totally inadequate as a solution. Pay lanes on our highways might get you quicker to a traffic jam. Some mornings it appears traffic is backed up on Ponce from Peachtree all the way into Gwinnett County. I believe all feeder routes have similar woes. Necessary solutions will not be easy but have to be made before this city chokes.
MARTIN MCCONAUGHY, ATLANTA
Democrats have done harm to democracy
Democrats have yet to offer a plan that will increase the size of our economic pie and meaningful jobs. Instead, Democrats want to continue irresponsible spending and taxing as we had during the Obama presidency; we all know what that got us. Instead, Democrat lawmakers have banded together to “resist” and actually undermine the Trump presidency.
If these malcontent fat-cat bureaucrats aren’t happy with the way the election turned out, then vote them out in the next election. That’s how it’s done in a free country. What Democrats are attempting to do is overthrow a duly elected president with support from much of the mainstream press.
This irrational behavior on the part of partisan Democrats has done irreparable harm to the rule of law and our democracy.
TOM GAMBESKI, CANTON
Repeated head trauma doesn’t make any sense
The dangers of concussions experienced by football players has been widely reported over the past few years. Repeated blows to the head have caused Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy and a myriad of mental health problems. Even knowing this, it amazes me when a player makes a good play, he gets slapped on the head/helmet by most of his teammates! The better the play; the harder the slaps. If that wasn’t bad enough, they also head-butt each other! Just because a player is wearing a helmet does not make it okay. I’m sure there are better ways to congratulate teammates.
Please inform football players that they are hurting themselves. Stop it! Repeated teammate-inflicted head trauma just doesn’t make any sense.
LUKE LAURENT, ATLANTA
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