I could barely drag myself away from last Thursday’s issue of your newspaper. There were so many really interesting articles all in one day. So I decided to thank you.
The headline “Howard to Harvard” was a “grabber,” proving the exceptional educational programming and supporting initiatives in Chattanooga. “Into the Wild” made me so proud of the Tennessee Lake Sturgeon Group reintroducing about 200,000 sturgeon into the Tennessee River.
Columnist Mark Kennedy’s story and photo of a wilderness guide from Calhoun who made a camel trek across the Saudi Arabian desert was intriguing, and the man is a mentor and life coach to troubled teens.
Those are only three of several enjoyable articles. And what do you know? None are political.
Marcia Biggs, Hixson
***
No fear needed; just Congressional action
Last month, a woman submitted a letter about how there’s ” … no need to scare teens on climate.”
I appreciate her desire to protect her child from stress associated with fear about climate change. However, I believe what’s most scary is that our current government is not taking the threats posed by climate change seriously.
We already have the solutions we need to solve the climate crisis, including affordable renewable energy and regenerative agriculture. What we’re most lacking is the political will needed to implement these solutions at scale.
I suggest that if she wants to help relieve her child’s fears about climate change that she urge Congressman Fleischmann to support the Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act (H.R. 763). This is a bipartisan bill that would reduce U.S. greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% in 12 years while boosting the American economy and creating 2.1 million new jobs.
Widespread adoption of renewable energy and regenerative agriculture would not only mitigate climate change but would also generate cleaner air, cleaner water and improved human health, especially the health of children, who are most susceptible to asthma caused by air pollution.
J.J. Johnson
***
Bus service decision makes poor economic sense
The Hamilton County Board of Education obviously skipped some days in kindergarten.
If board members hadn’t, they would have learned that it is unfair and unjust to blame and punish someone who didn’t commit an offense. They would have also learned that if you can buy an ice cream cone for $1, you don’t choose to buy the same cone for $1.10.
Make no mistake – the guilty one for the tragic loss of six precious Woodmore Elementary School children was not Durham School Services. No, it was solely reckless bus driver Johnthony K. Walker. Firing Durham and paying a million dollars more to First Student for the same service doesn’t bring the kids back or solve the problem.
Go back to kindergarten, school board.
Jeff Wilson, Ooltewah