Human influence has sped global warming
Regarding “Time for BOS to turn its marvelous effectiveness to local issues like fixing potholes in our roads.” (Observer*American, Oct. 3). The writer is dead-on when he chastises the BOS for symbolic resolutions. Such resolutions make everyone involved feel all warm and fuzzy, but are a waste of time and a distraction.
That being said, the writer just doesn”t understand why the vast majority of the world”s scientists and experts ? those without political agendas or corporate sponsors ? are so alarmed by global warming. Global warming as a natural phenomenon has waxed and waned for hundreds of thousands of years for various reasons having nothing to do with humankind.
The problem now is the rate at which CO2 and temperatures are rising is accelerating at an ever faster pace, with 11 of the 12 warmest years on record occurring since 1995. This acceleration is a direct result of a growing world population using an ever increasing amount of fossil fuels.
For those of you who are skeptical of this scenario may I suggest obtaining a copy of the latest National Geographic magazine, reading the article “The Carbon Crisis” and closely studying the accompanying and very informative insert.
To do this however requires that the reader first remove his blinders, put on his thinking cap and approach the issue with an open mind free of political prejudices and cleansed of party propaganda.
Richard Bishop
Clearlake Oaks
Patients and hospitals can cut costs together
I have recently found several obvious ways that people making a low-income can partner with the medical field to defray the costs of their uninsured care.
They can go to clinics for shots and non-urgent medical needs. In the Emergency Room, hospitals should employ at least one nurse practitioner to screen patients before seeing the doctor. This helps for two reasons.
First, it shortens the wait for all patients, most importantly for those with a life-threatening condition. Second, if the condition can be solved by someone other than a doctor, it will not cost as much to taxpayers and patients.
Churchill said that the price of greatness is responsibility. If America wants to have high standards of greatness, we need to require responsibility of the people and the government. These are small, definite ways to begin holding that standard.
Hope Nowak
Kelseyville
A home for the holidays
You can make a difference! An urgent appeal from Habitat for Humanity Lake County for volunteer help in completing three homes by Christmas. This would be the first ever Christmas that the selected families would be living in their very own home. These houses are about 80 percent complete, but we need extra support from the community to finish up the homes. Drywall work on two homes, door hanging, cabinet installation, plumbing/electrical fixture installation and yard grading/landscaping is still needed.
The Habitat volunteer weekly work schedule is 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. every Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday. Call 994-1100 to sign-up or for further information. What better way to give at this time of year than in helping a fellow Lake County family have a safe place to live!
Lisa Willardson
Habitat for Humanity Lake County
Seafood guidelines are compromised by politics
Something”s fishy about the latest recommendation on seafood consumption for pregnant women. This recommendation, set forth by a national coalition that has admitted to taking money from the fish industry, directly contradicts the seafood consumption limits established by the FDA and EPA.
The scientific evidence on fish and pregnancy is mounting and the risks far exceed the potential benefits. As a dietician, I am concerned about the health problems pregnant women could face if they include fish and shellfish in their diet.
Mercury is a potent neurotoxin that inflicts permanent damage on thousands of American children every year and even a 6-ounce serving of mercury-contaminated fish may expose a person to dangerous amounts of the toxic level.
Omega-3 fatty acids are crucial for brain and nervous system development, but there are healthier sources for this nutrient, including green leafy vegetables, walnuts and soybeans.
Susan Levin, M.S., R.D.
Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine
Take Rush Limbaugh off Armed Forces Radio
Rich, racist radio blowhard Rush Limbaugh recently slandered millions of conscientious, former and current members of the American military when he used the phrase “phony soldiers” to libel the opponents of Bush and Cheney”s quagmire in Iraq.
“Phony soldiers?” That”s an awfully ironic choice of words.What about Dick Cheney”s five Vietnam-era draft deferments, Rush? And what about those still-unaccounted-for 18 months in 1972-73 when George W. Bush deserted his post with the Alabama Air National Guard during wartime?
Limbaugh shouted this defensive denial to his Wednesday, Oct. 3, radio show: “I”ve never criticized them as phony! Never! Never! Never!”
Don”t trust Limbaugh; do your own research. If you want to hear the audio of Rush Limbaugh”s unpatriotic, anti-American “phony soldiers” commentary, go online to www.mediamatters.org. Then, please call your conservative Blue Dog Congressman Mike Thompson at 269-9595 and ask him to support our troops by assisting retired U.S. Army General Wesley Clark”s campaign to remove Limbaugh from the Armed Forces Radio Network. It”s the least we can do.
Jake Pickering
Eureka
