Colorado power, Kans. pollution

Dear Editors:

Evidence of global warming bombards us each day: glaciers all over the globe melting, stronger storms, six of the earth’s hottest years since 1860 occurring in the last eight years, and so on. The scientific community is now virtually unanimous in its conclusion that global warming is caused by greenhouse gases, 80 percent of which is carbon dioxide. CO2 occurs as a result of burning coal, gasoline and other fossil fuels. Our electric power plants are huge contributors of carbon dioxide.

Despite all this, Kansas is about to permit a huge, new, coal-fired power plant for construction in Holcomb, Kans. This one plant will produce 13,000,000 tons of CO2 each year. To offset Holcomb’s annual contribution to global warming, with all of its known and unknown risks to life on our planet, we would need to remove 1.9 million gasoline powered cars, SUVs and light trucks from our highways.

Furthermore, this new plant could increase Kansas mercury emissions by 65 percent. To add insult to injury, most of the electricity to be produced at Holcomb will be sent to Colorado. We get the pollution while Colorado gets the power.

Why aren’t we actively talking about better efficiency, wind power and solar power, or at least state-of-the art emission controls? Instead we are about to be stuck for 50 years or more with a huge, new, coal plant that is just business as usual.

– Sincerely, Sam Roberts

via e-mail

A positive contrast

Dear Editors,

Once again, activist American blacks have proven that they are leaders in and at the forefront of American society’s charge for human rights. By peace

fully descending thousands strong on the tiny Louisiana town of Jena to protest the apparent discrepancy in charges between the white and black kids in a high-school racial “dispute” on Sept. 20, they’ve certainly reconfirmed this in my mind. It was reassuring to see such spontaneous action by so many concerned

and dedicated (to not returning to the past) people, and it is something we can all be proud of.

It was certainly a positive contrast to the news of that murdering idiot OJ Simpson’s arrest. And as for OJ, I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. The old words “Those whom the gods would destroy would first4 

drive  mad” seem to seriously apply here. For him to behave as if none of the rules of a civilized society apply to him in that pathetic “I thought what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas” statement indicates to me that the gods and perhaps his own ego are indeed driving him mad. Well the first part seems a done deal.

– Grant D. Cyrus,

via e-mail

Big thanks from the Dude

Dear Editors,

Hey Man, you know the Dude would really like to say thanks for all the good times the other night at the Abbey Theatre. It was so cool to hang out with all you righteous folks, even the Nihilists. Brad Merlino, you’re a cool dude for sure. Thanks for playing host. To the ladies behind the bar, keep the Caucasians strong.

Super thanks to Ska Brewing and all the great people we, the royal we, know over there. That Ten-Pin sure is good for what ails you. Of course, we all have to thank each other for being such cool people. Thanks for making the second annual Big Lebowski Night a great success.

– The Dude in Durango

Save a Latino life

Dear Editors:

I am writing to urge the Latino community and all Coloradans to register their decision to be organ and tissue donors. Nationally, nearly 16,000 Latinos are waiting for an organ transplant. In Colorado, nearly 400 Latinos are waiting, including both my wife and me. My wife and I have waited more than a year for kidney transplants and have been told that we may be waiting for five years. Suffering from kidney failure, we both undergo grueling dialysis treatments to stay alive. Historically, the Latino community says yes to donation less frequently than other ethnic groups. There are several misconceptions that keep our community from donating. Myths include the belief that doctors will not work as hard to save the life of a person who has indicated he or she wishes to be a donor. This is untrue. The first priority of a medical professional is to save lives. In some cases, such as when a kidney transplant is needed, living donors are able to donate their organs. Another myth is that the donor family is charged for donating their loved one’s organs. Actually, costs associated with donation are never passed on to the donor family. In Colorado, 22 percent of the more than 1,700 people waiting for an organ transplant are Latino. Save a life. Talk to your family about organ and tissue donation and register your decision at www.coloradodonorregistry.org or by calling 888.256.4386. You can also register by going to the DMV when you obtain or renew your driver’s license.

– Tony Garcia,

via e-mail