Research verifies temperature rise
Nearly 200 years ago, Joseph Fourier discovered a phenomena known as the “Greenhouse Effect,” which is a warming that occurs from increases in certain gases in the Earth’s atmosphere. One of the gases is carbon dioxide, CO2.
115 years ago, Svante Arrhenius, a Swedish physicist, researched what caused the Ice Ages. His work showed an increase in CO2 combined with water vapor brought forth an increase in the atmospheric temperature. Arrhenius performed calculations to arrive at how much incoming radiation was absorbed by CO2 and water to heat the atmosphere; thus, climate science began over 100 years ago.
CO2 data have been collected and analyzed by scientists and the military for decades. The Pentagon collected data on the ice shelves and showed an average thinning trend of 40 percent since 1953. Ice core samples from 800,000 years ago to the present show CO2 levels increased from 180 ppm to 383 ppm. In 1960, it was 313 ppm and in 1990 it was 353 ppm.
This is not a hoax — it has been researched and verified through use of scientific methods. It is an ugly truth that is not disproven by either a snowstorm in Tennessee or conjecture from Fox News.
SANDY LUSK
Signal Mountain
Founders believed paper money evil
Nearly all constitutional convention delegates considered paper money evil and limited government to coining money and regulating its value. They rejected a central bank. States cannot “make anything but gold and silver coin a tender in payment of debt.”
Alexander Hamilton opposed democracy — “the people is a great beast” — and wanted government monopolized “by the rich and well born” to obligate creditor classes. Even he found no constitutional authority for a national bank empowered to issue paper money. Advocating an excise tax collected by force, he was careful not to offend moneyed classes and taxed small farmers. His “conservative” policies assured a multiplication of taxes and restriction on liberty not unlike British rule.
Before the convention, Jefferson and Franklin repeatedly charged the Society of Cincinnati with wanting government to put the people “in their place.” Treasury Secretary Hamilton achieved their pompous goal by ignoring letter and spirit, thereby subverting the Constitution and exalting the aristocracy.
Deception worked! “We the people” grovel before our multinational corporate masters. Over half would now exchange liberty for security. The Christian Exodus failed because we prefer money to stability. Nobody defends the Constitution! When its magnificent vision dies, so does America and mankind’s hope.
RICHARD D. VICKREY
Perdue proposal on pay misguided
Gov. Sonny Perdue of Georgia, after slicing $2 billion from education, is leaving with one final blast: a misguided merit pay plan.
One of the few things Georgia has had going for it since Sonny arrived has been its salary scale with built-in experience steps and boosts for educational attainment.
The scale has kept Georgia at the top of the Southeast, attracting fine educators from states like Tennessee and Alabama.
Perdue bases his scheme on survey results so misinterpreted that no honest broker could sell them. He then misdiagnoses the problem. Georgia has a retention problem, and the causes are well-documented. Teachers leave schools because they do not receive the support they need.
Instead of moving forward with a strong mentoring plan, Perdue proposes paying a few teachers like “coaches.” He even fails in that regard as the top salaries in his proposal are nowhere near the star coaches of his rhetoric. To compound his errors, he bases performance on a test system that does not measure growth over time.
Finally, he fails to realize that a majority of teachers in Georgia have no standardized test of any kind to show results. It will be a sunny day in Georgia when Sonny is gone.
RALPH NOBLE
Classroom Teacher
Whitfield County
Schools
Eastbrook Middle School
Past-President
Georgia Association
of Educators
Be careful when comparing
A letter Feb. 13 mentioned JFK as an advocate of lowering taxes. What was missing in the way of information was that the marginal tax rate in 1961 on $140,000 was 78 percent (90 percent for top earners), while in 2010 the rate is 28 percent (35 percent for top earners). The need to compare “apples to apples” is important when making statements.
NELSON SULLIVAN
Hixson
Wamp isn’t up to the task
In speaking about federal earmarks (funding requests asked for by members of Congress but not voted upon as an independent expenditure by Congress) recently, Rep. Zach Wamp said, “in no way have I ever abused that privilege.” “I’ve been a lead reformer of the earmark process,” — “Everybody knows that. I’m the guy who’s actually made all the calls for cleaning up this process for a long period of time.”
I am amazed at the level of ignorance Mr. Wamp portrays, in part because I am not part of “everybody.” He forthrightly demonstrates his level of education. I believe he’s a Christian, but I also believe politics has gone to his ego and not his heart. These statements come from a man who voted to increase our children’s debt by $1 trillion for the sake of banks because he was afraid Americans could not make it without government intervention. He himself admitted such when he said, I was wrong.
One simply has to look at Mr. Wamp’s record to see he is not up to the task. It is far better that he wastes our money on his retirement than he wastes our future on his dreams.
MARK ALBERTINI
Cooperation will not happen
“Bi-partisan Co-operation” will really happen? As an observer of national politics for almost 50 years, I can assure you that it will never happen.
The reason: There is no reason to compromise. Only a third party can and will generate compromise.
There is no real difference between the Republicans or the Democrats (no matter what they say). Once a party gains control of either house, the “Them vs. Us” mindset cements all considerations to not work together.
The solutions:
(1) Implement either “the Fair Tax” or the “Flat Tax” for the income tax quagmire. Why? Because it takes away power from Congress and reduces the powers of lobbies which control our elected officials.
(2) Demand an annual balanced budget. Not the “balanced budget” of the Clinton years, which actually would not have occurred until this year. Take the hit now, not 10 years down the road.
(3) Demand that government employees’ payrolls be enacted by the people and not the party in power in Congress; and congressional payrolls have a limit not to exceed 10 percent higher than the average American worker’s payroll. Why? Because it will eliminate those who wish power from those who wish to serve.
(4) Return to the Constitution.
STEVE BECK
Prepare for bad weather early
El Nino-related conditions have brought above average amount of precipitation, clouds and cool weather this winter. We’ve seen more then our usual share of floods, landslides and falling trees. Our ground is saturated to the point it cannot take any more water along with many streams already above average.
Cloudy and cool conditions have contributed to slow-down in evaporation. What will happen if we get spring thunderstorms that have the potential of dumping huge amounts of rain in a short time? The area probably couldn’t handle a fast three-to-six-inch thunderstorm. It doesn’t take a meteorologist to tell things could get bad quickly.
An awareness of this possibility needs to be addressed by the weather and local media. Waiting to warn people as thunderstorms approach is often too late.
My area floods easily, so I have raised valuables off the garage floor and added drainage pipe to my yard. If your area has been prone to flooding, start thinking now as to what your options could be. Waiting when the thunderstorms are moving in is often too late.
Hopefully this spring will not see any large thunderstorms, but if it does come, procrastinating can end up being an expensive gamble.
BILL BYAZYK
Hixson