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Letters to the editor: Aug. 16, 2019

A new low

Gun violence seems to have brought our nation to a new low. Other countries are now issuing warnings about the dangers of traveling to the U.S.  

We should be ashamed that this is happening in our country when we could readily do something to stop it. We should be proud of the people who have been trying to do just that for years in response to other mass shootings, but have been pushed aside by influential gun lobbies like the NRA. Thanks to the self-seeking efforts of these powerful organizations to block common-sense gun measures, we have been largely unable to protect ourselves.

While other countries seem baffled by America’s obsession with guns, the president seems to care only about the political impact. He sets up photo ops, so as to wrongly give the impression he cares.

The Trump quote included in Jeb Bladine’s Whatchama column of Aug. 9 helps prove my point:

Q: What about assault rifles? A lot of people would like to see them banned. What is your position?

A: “Well, I can tell you that there is no political appetite for that at this moment. If you look at the — you could speak, you could do your own polling. And there’s no political appetite, probably, from the standpoint of legislature. But I will certainly bring that up.”

That leaves me just one course of action: work to stop these weapons from being sold, continue to seek out facts and vote!

Janet De With

Yamhill

 

The way around

OK, McMinnville. You can do it.

There are only two things you need to remember about a roundabout — yield in and blinker out!

Troy Schulz

McMinnville

 

Massive shift needed

A story headlined “Climate Change Threatens World Food Supply” recently received top play in leading newspapers. It was prompted by the release of a summary report by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which is staffed by more than 100 experts from 52 countries.

The report details how climate change is threatening our world’s food and water supplies, how it is turning arable land to desert, degrading the soil and increasing the frequency of devastating weather conditions. It concludes that avoiding wholesale starvation and mass migration requires fundamental changes in agricultural land and livestock management practices, which now account for 23 percent of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions.

The conclusions of the IPCC closely match those of a Chatham House study in 2015 and Oxford University study in 2017. A 2010 United Nations study, which blames animal agriculture for 19% of greenhouse gas emissions, 70% of freshwater use and 38% of land use, dovetails as well.

All of these reports recommend a massive shift to plant-based eating. In an environmentally sustainable world, meat and dairy products in our diet must be replaced by vegetables, fruits, and grains, just as fossil fuels need to be replaced in our energy supply by wind, solar and other pollution-free sources.

Our next visit to the supermarket provides a superb starting point.

Melvin Nysser

McMinnville

 

Live long and prosper

It seems as though each week brings another report about newspapers going out of business. It affects large metropolitan centers, small villages and everything in between.

Local newspapers provide in-depth investigation and analysis of key issues. We depend on that coverage to help us form views of who we are, what we’re up to and where we’re going collectively.

I would just like to offer a tip of the hat and a huge thank you to the News-Register.

You are involved in the life and times of our community. We turn to you for information that affects our lives.

We wouldn’t be the same without you. The phrase used by Mr. Spock of Star Trek fame comes to mind: May you live long and prosper.

Lee Howard

McMinnville

Comments

Don Dix

Melvin Nysser -- IPCC makeup -- 80% politicians, ambassadors, and diplomats -- 20% with SOME familiarity with climate science (not all scientists).

The scientists make contributions, but write no reports or assessments. The non-science members control the information and what is contained in any report. That's why several 'lead authors' have spoken out or even quit when facts presented to the study are skewed and twisted to fit the designed narrative.

The IPCC leaders have admitted they are not about the climate or environment, and actually want to redistribute the world's wealth. And the 'herd mentality' of the followers fits nicely into the design -- what could be a more unsubstantiated source?

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