Rio Olympics are a waste of money

Rio Olympics are a waste of money

Wow, I don't feel comfortable watching the Olympics when they happen in Rio. I just heard that 19,000 people were relocated from the poorer parts of town and the event is costing $50 billion.

It is so obvious what is happening here. The poor are not being cared for and a huge amount of money is being spent on kitsch.

Jill A. Iles


Natural gas is not a solution

Think about this. A far worse greenhouse gas is methane, (from burning natural gas), 25 times worse. So natural gas is not "the clean fossil fuel" for which we have been waiting.

Studies indicate that somewhere between one and nine percent of the methane actually escapes into our atmosphere and contributes to our pollution problem. Present in the atmosphere is fugitive methane gas. "Fugitive" means that methane escapes during extraction due to leaks or some other irregular leak of this gas. In order to be cleaner than coal or oil, less than 3.2 percent of the methane can be permitted to escape.

It is true that our increased reliance on natural gas has contributed to lower carbon dioxide emissions over the past few years. However, natural gas does not offer us avoidance from the hazards of greenhouse gas pollution. Natural gas is not the solution unless there is incontrovertible evidence that it reduces greenhouse gas emissions. Think about this.

Louise Shawkat


Weather reporter should show leadership

Recent years have witnessed a remarkable sequence of disasters resulting from severe weather. Ranging from storms and floods to heat waves, droughts, and wildfires, over the last couple of years these events have cost Americans over $200 billion.

This series of events is exactly what is suggested by the projections from climate scientists. The American Meteorological Society, to which any certified and accredited weather reporter will belong, has long endorsed the judgment that warming is happening and human activities are contributing. So local weather reporters could educate their audiences by connecting the dots from climate change to severe weather.

Weather reporters could lead on this issue rather than ducking it completely because a small number of individuals complain whenever they hear the inconvenient truth. Those who seem persuaded by the campaign of lies and disinformation waged by fossil fuel corporations that these disasters are a natural phenomenon need to understand what is happening.

Climate science indicates that this pattern will only get worse unless we address the root cause of human carbon pollution. I urge taking action by taxing carbon pollution.

Ken Deveney