Letters to the Editor
Forget the Stadium; Build a Multi-Use Arena
Editor, Times-Dispatch:
At the corner of Jackson and 4th Streets is a red light that has been out for several weeks. On West Broad in Henrico is a pothole that has been there for several months. Yet some local businessman wants this area to spend $50-plus million for a baseball stadium.With the economy the way it is, that money could go toward more needed projects in the city and surrounding area -- and with Tim Kaine in the governor's mansion, we do not need any more additional revenue streams to help pay for a stadium that has limited uses. Look at The Diamond -- how many other events have been held there that did not involve a ball and bat?
If they want to build something downtown, make it a multi-use arena that will attract NCAA basketball tournament games and big-time concert names. Events could be held on a weekly -- if not a daily -- basis. Look at the arena in Atlanta. That building paid for itself in three years and is today one of the top revenue arenas in the country.
Richmond needs to stop thinking like a small town and think like the big boys.
Dave Roberson. Henrico.
Seek Forgiveness, Not Revenge
Editor, Times-Dispatch:
I am distressed by the announcement that Edward Nathaniel Bell's execution date has been set for Feb. 19 -- not because I do not think people should be held accountable for their crimes, but because I too know the sting of losing a loved one (my sister) to murder.I would not want another family -- not even that of a convicted killer -- to go through the pain which my family went through after losing my sister. The death penalty in Virginia is a very troubling thing; I think we should be teaching forgiveness, not revenge.
It's not an easy road to forgive those who hurt you, but in the end forgiveness is better than having your loved one's legacy be the death of another human being.
Ryan Nixon. Norfolk.
What Does a Geologist Know of Global Warming?
Editor, Times-Dispatch:
Walter Williams' Op/Ed column, "Global Warming Rope-a-Dope?" is a slap at common sense if there ever was one.Williams actually quotes from a geologist, David Gee: "For how many years must the planet cool before we begin to understand that the planet is not warming? For how many years must cooling go on?" What planet does this Gee live on?
Let us look at the basic facts we do know: Greenland, the Arctic Ocean, and the Antarctic land ice are melting at an accelerated rate. Glaciers the world over are disappearing. Weather station records give record-breaking high temperatures. Spring comes earlier and fall later. Let's not forget the chaotic weather we are experiencing. This, in large part, is due to higher ocean water temperatures.
Global warming is very real and is caused by human pollution of our atmosphere (carbon dioxide and methane gases), land (clearing forests and erosion), and oceans (over-fishing and the rise in water temperatures). If global warming is not caused by the human race, then we will be unable to stop it.
But, since we need only look at ourselves as the culprit, we can reverse the horror of killing life on this planet. Many scientists say that approximately one-half of carbon dioxide emissions are caused by the United States and China.
Global warming is real and we will reach a point of no return without action very soon. President-elect Barack Obama's Energy Department nominee, Steven Chu, and Professor Stephen Hawking of Cambridge University have both acknowledged this.
Cam Morris. Richmond.
Hamas Throws Itself on World Mercy
Editor, Times-Dispatch:
There is an old Yiddish joke about a boy who murders his parents and then throws himself on the mercy of the court because he is an orphan.A less humorous version of this joke is playing out in Gaza. After firing thousands of rockets across Israel's southern border, Hamas is throwing itself on the mercy of world opinion now that Israel has had enough and has decided to strike back in self-defense.
Because Hamas fires its rockets from civilian population centers, including schools, apartment buildings, and mosques, putting its own citizens at risk, it then cries foul when Israel goes after these targets, inflicting predictable damage.
While nobody is happy when innocents are caught in the cross-fire, the blame lies squarely on Hamas for creating the untenable situation it now finds itself in.
Shame on Hamas for creating more orphans.
Debra Gardner. Richmond.
In D.C., They Still Like Smoke-Filled Rooms
Editor, Times-Dispatch:
Why was the Capitol Hill meeting on Jan. 7 between Democratic Illinois Senate nominee Roland Burris, Majority Leader Harry Reid, and Majority Whip Richard Durbin, held behind closed doors and closed to the public and press? I guess the new era of open and transparent government is over. In spite of empty words and promises, some things never change.Max Maizels. Richmond.
Reader Reactions
I don’t believe that anybody has EVER heard a doctor claim that cigarettes are good for you.
That is the usual outrageous non-scientific statement made by those who quote a “movie” as conclusive proof that carbon dioxide causes anthropological global warming.
Science as ideology. Even the scientists who subscribe to the current popular theory respect the opinions of those in the various disciplines that do not agree with their viewpoint.
The debate on global warming has nothing to do with talking heads on tv either liberal or conservative except for those who get all their casual information there. And those who write and accuse others of doing so.
There are those of us who are sincere and serious about this question and have read the science and made an honest effort to understand it.
This is not a moral issue with right and wrong sides. It is in everybody’s interest to be as informed as they can be on the subject.
I have been involved with this question for 40 years. When it was in its infancy. Before it was a cause celebre. Before Al Gore and his dishonest movie. And the “consensus” of opinion has changed many times in that span. The debate was only declared “over” when the grant money started pouring in from dubious sources like George Soros and the Heinz Foundation and the “environmentalists” took up the cause like a global warming Jihad.
Citizens should spend more of their time studying the science if they are going to insist on spouting their opinions in the newspapers. This is not science as ideology. Future generations are not going to care one bit who was right or wrong if we rush to judgement and there are “dire” unintended consequences.
Even today you can find doctors who’ll say that cigarettes are good for you, and these are the ones people will prefer to believe. The same is problem with global warming. Al Gore called it an inconvenient truth, and they’ll be no shortage of pseudo-scientists paraded around saying it isn’t so. So, the ditto heads weigh in, aping the stuff they hear on right wing radio and Fox Lies, even though the consequences are evident and dire for future generations.
When we get the Wikipedia/Al Gore version of global warming it always includes the same “basic facts that we all know.“
There are NO “basic facts” about global warming.There are theories and assumptions and educated guesses and scientists in all the related disciplines vying for grant money and the spotlight.
One of the theories is that there is nothing happening in the world today climatically that has not happened more than once before in the history of the planet.
The computer models on which the theory of GW is based are incapable of predicting present-day climate ergo how are they to predict the climate of the future or “backcast” the climate of the past.
The average error in modeling present precipitation is in the order of 100 percent and the error in modeling present temperature is about the same size as the predicted change due to doubling of carbon dioxide.
The MEASURMENTS are usually well done. The interpretation of them is often less than scientific.
The data on the effect of aerasols and clouds and solar activity is sparse to say the least.
Read the IPCC report for confirmation.
These considerations are huge in the scope of the entire question.
And remember CO2 FOLLOWED the planet out of the Little Ice Age. It did not precede it.
And water vapor which was not included at all in the original reports is by far the largest and most influential greenhouse gas.
Oops. In my original comment the “800 BCE” should be “800 CE”.
“Let us look at the basic facts we do know: Greenland, the Arctic Ocean, and the Antarctic land ice are melting at an accelerated rate.“
However, no they are not. In the 1920’s the New York Times printed a piece wailing about how the Arctic ice was disappearing at such a rate that land had been exposed and seals were losing ice floes to rest upon. Guess what? The trend reversed, along with the ice coverage. The current favored claim is that the Polar Bears are decreasing. That is true in a few small areas. Overall they are doing quite well and are actually increasing.
“Glaciers the world over are disappearing.“
Some are, but others often within a few miles are growing. Mt. Kilamanjaro is promoted as an example of loss. However its temperature has not dropped and its loss of ice is due to normal evaporation and a reduced amount of moisture from the Indian Ocean. The loss of ice on Mt. Kilamanjaro was first noted in the late 1800’s.
“Weather station records give record-breaking high temperatures.“
Some do. But they are those embedded in the ‘heat islands’ of the modern city. Over half of the stations that were once used to calculate the global average, have been closed. These stations were generally in the cooler areas of the planet such as Russia. Thus a higher average.
“Spring comes earlier and fall later.“
Not really. And the “it happened therefore it must be because of” is simply unreasonable.
“Let’s not forget the chaotic weather we are experiencing.“
Chaotic? Fewer hurricanes than predicted, both large and small. And the increased property damage is due to the fact that people tend to live in just the areas impacted by hurricanes.
“This, in large part, is due to higher ocean water temperatures.“
No.
“Global warming is very real and is caused by human pollution of our atmosphere”
Then you must be able to explain the Little Ice Age that lasted for several hundred years from about 1300 to the middle 1800’s. During this time the temperature fluctuated by as much as 10 degrees and the Thames river in Britain, froze over during the winters. Not many SUV’s (or people either) at the time. What caused it?
In the time period around 800 BCE the Vikings landed on and prospered in farming on a warm Greenland. They did not leave until the temperatures dropped and froze them out? What caused it?
“and oceans (over-fishing and the rise in water temperatures).“
Fishing causes water temperature to rise? It has been shown that an increase or decrease in atmospheric CO2 is a trailing indicator to water temperature. Such changes in CO2 do not happen until about 800 years or so after the water temperature changes.
The cause of global warming cannot be determined by the available conditions.
Cam Morris is partly right, but partly wrong. And it is the error in the argument that makes so many people disagree with the global warming crisis. We cannot state that global warming is caused by people, only that people contribute to it. Yes, global warming is a fact as the loss of global ice cover demonstrates. And the correlation between industrial CO2 and the temperature rise is compelling. That does not make it a fact. We can and should participate in a global effort to reduce greenhouse gasses, but that does not mean the problem will be solved. Cam is also wrong in another area, as there are other means available to cool the earth - I remember the talk of “nuclear winter” way back when. And as a final point, I’m fairly certain that fishing and global warming are not related at all. Please, make your arguments but leave out the specious ones.
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