Letters to the Editor 3/29/2022

Climate change: Who is in control?

To the Editor:

Imagine a large log surging down a fast-flowing river, hurling through rapids. On the log are thousands of tiny ants, all of who think they are in control of their log. Now multiply that scenario exponentially, with our planet occupied by humans claiming we can control our climate.

Looking at our solar system we are but a tiny object in comparison to our “uninhabitable” neighbors like Jupiter and Saturn, mutually existing in a totally hostile environment; space.

What is the probability that this miracle planet of ours just “happened” — or does the existence of a designer/Creator provide the answer? Our own moon, just a stone’s throw away in terms of distance in the vastness of space, is completely barren, and incapable of supporting life as we know it.

Our climate system is another miracle of design by our Creator. The sun is the most significant factor impacting our climate. The earth’s rotation generates the Coriolis effect, critical in the formation of cyclonic weather systems and ocean currents. What gives us our four seasons is the fact Earth oscillates on its axis between 22.1 and 24.5 degrees tilt as we move around the sun. Also essential in this complex interaction of tremendous forces is the moon and its gravitational effect on ocean tides.

The result of these forces interacting during the different seasons produce hurricanes, tornados, hailstorms, ice storms, floods, thunderstorms, and at times massive destruction; but has sustained life for thousands of years.

So, who is in control, us “ants on the log”? Genesis 2:1.

Jeff Mackey

Stop banning books

To the Editor:

The youth are the future. That fact should guide all that we do as adults, from assuring a child’s health and a sustainable environment in which to thrive, to providing a robust education. To do the latter, we need to assure our public educational institutions include the latest knowledge in science, history, literature, etc.

Change is inevitable. To face the unknowable, every developing mind (up to 24 years of age) needs the best education there is to offer. The more diverse one’s education the more brilliant the mind. The more diverse the community and cultural experiences, the more capable one is to adjust to new ideas, people, or places. Conversely, a child with limited knowledge will have limited abilities and with limited exposure will have less ability to adapt to change.

In the USA, a very small minority of adults are banning books from public schools and libraries — some are even burning books! It appears they don’t know banned books sell the fastest, and are read sooner than later and eventually are unbanned.

In the early 1800s, “The reasons why public schools came into being—preparing people for jobs and citizenship, unifying a diverse population, and promoting equity, among others—remain relevant, even urgent.” (Center on Education Policy).

Although the administration and most of the funding of public schools is the purview of each state, land grants for public schools are federally funded. Thus, when needed, the federal government may intervene. Integrated schools occurred in northern states as early as 1843 but it took another 100 years, and only by federal intervention, for our southern states to accept children of color into their public schools.

Humans have a long history (600 BC onward) of destroying what they don’t like or don’t want others to know. During the Inquisition books that touted “other” religions or no religion or were about sex or the latest scientific discoveries, were burned; then came Enlightenment.

Late 1800s, in USA, we banned books about evolution until we got wise. U.S. History books in all our schools were from a whites-only perspective until very recently. New broadened histories, however, are being banned since they’re about white peoples’ dominance by force, and how such racism expresses itself today in our laws, institutions, and social encounters.

Today, some ban books about the sexual diversity of human beings through time or books about how a child may realize sexual preferences that dramatically differ from their parents’ expectations.

Perhaps it is time for another federal intervention. Maybe we need a new federal law that prohibits the banning of books from public buildings.

Susan Cobb