Letters To The Editor

The environment

Many do see warming as a problem

Re: “Global warming so much nonsense” (Letters, Dec. 14).

Jim Ebisch was right in saying that there are people highly concerned about global warming. Those “hand wringers” include 2,500 scientists representing 80 countries, the management of GM, Ford, Daimler-Chrysler, BP, Texaco, Shell and others.

To reach agreement on reducing global warming, representatives of 177 countries spent two weeks in November at a conference in The Hague, Netherlands. In February, the world’s political leaders, opinion leaders and CEOs of the 1,000 largest corporations had surprised organizers of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, by declaring climate change to be “the paramount challenge facing humanity.”

Many reputable scientists say the extremely rapid melting within the last 50 years of polar and Greenland ice, the disintegration of Antarctica ice fields, the worldwide retreat of glaciers, the thawing of the tundra and the warming of the oceans are “unprecedented.” Peer-reviewed scientific reports use words such as “disaster,” “catastrophic” and “calamity” in discussing global warming.

Computer models, vastly improved in the last five years, predict accelerated global warming if global fossil fuel use continues to increase.

Two major global warming reports, one on U.S. impacts and one on global impacts, are under peer review and are scheduled for public release next spring. Julian Powers Spokane

Seattle should mind own business

I find it extremely ironic that the Seattle City Council would pass a resolution to breach the dams on the Snake River without giving any consideration to breaching the dams on the Skagit River in Western Washington owned and operated by Seattle City Light. The Skagit River has been designated as a wild and scenic river by the federal government, yet the dams still remain. We’ve never heard any talk of breaching those dams.

If the people of Western Washington are so concerned about wild salmon runs, let them start by breaching their dams and restoring the salmon and steelhead runs on rivers in their back yard, before deciding what should be done to rivers in our back yard. Kelly L. Sego Spokane

Wildlife

Last of mountain caribou in peril

Re: News story urging voluntary end to old-growth logging in the Northwest.

In the Selkirk Mountains of northeast Washington and northwest Idaho, old-growth forests provide critical winter forage for the very last herd of mountain caribou left in the entire United States. These noble animals, cousins of Santa’s reindeer, are the most endangered large mammals in the United States and will only survive if we protect what’s left of their dwindling old-growth habitat.

With the holidays fast approaching, the best Christmas gift these embattled ungulates could receive would be strong commitments from the U.S. Forest Service and, more importantly, the Idaho Department of Lands to end all logging in old-growth stands in the Selkirks.

The Selkirk Conservation Alliance is working for mountain caribou recovery by helping raise money for herd studies conducted by an international, interagency team of wildlife biologists. Write us at P.O. Box 1809, Priest River, Idaho, 83856 for information on how you can help save these last, few cousins to Santa’s reindeer. G. A. Bailey executive director, Selkirk Conservation Alliance, Priest River, Idaho

People and animals

Dalmatians - proceed with care

I agree with Carol Dingwell (Letters, Dec. 7), Dalmatians are wonderful dogs. They are dramatic to look at, have great energy, are loyal to their people, are bright and independent.

However, in the homes of inexperienced, unaware owners who are unable to give the training, socialization and attention this breed so needs, Dalmatians can become an undesirable member of the family.

There are 18,000 Dalmatians in foster care nationwide. The previous owners thought they were cute puppies (thank you, Disney) and did not do research before selecting this breed. They did not have time to train correctly (“correctly” being the key word here) and make sure they got plenty of exercise. Dals can easily run 30 miles a day. That kind of energy, not channeled correctly, will display itself in destructive and aggressive behavior.

These dogs have a mind of their own and you will need to stay one step ahead of them at all times while they’re in training.

Also, do not buy them out of the back of a van on Division Street. Just because someone has puppies for sale does not make them a good breeder. Breeding affects temperament.

Think and study before you contribute to that foster population. Kaye Hambrook Dalmatian Referral & Information Services, Spokane

Animals too often suffer at our hands

A person can shoot a swan on the river with a gun, leaving a lifetime mate behind to grieve. The Park Department didn’t even offer a reward for information.

Baby swans were killed in Manito Park - news for a day. No reward was offered by the Park Department. Several years ago a woman killed a fawn at Walk in the Wild Zoo while taking its picture. She didn’t receive punishment of any kind that I know of.

Animals and birds feel pain and grieve just as humans do.

In Franklin Park boys used an air gun on two young sea gulls, injuring their wings. The gulls were taken to the Humane Society and had to be put down. People were all around at the time. Didn’t they care? Why didn’t they reason with the boys? Where were the parents?

Sea gulls love to fly and have a playful nature. I enjoyed them in the park and love to watch them fly. I don’t go to the parks any more.

Three weeks ago, a kitten I was taming was bashed to death with a board by teenage boys. They killed the very life God gave them care over. How many cats have they tortured and killed? What is going to become of these boys? What kind of future are they headed for? LaVerne Kettlety Spokane

Other topics

Relax, comrade, it’s all in fun

This letter is in response to the very frightened gentleman from Newport who was apparently upset there was a statute of Lenin in Seattle (Letters, Dec. 15).

Apparently, he only drove by it and did not stay to learn why it was there or anything about the very eclectic, zany and patriotic neighborhood of Fremont. That statute has been there over 10 years now and had actually stood in Russia and was sold off after the breakup.

Sorry to spoil your Seattle put-down, but the statute is there just for fun and, if anything, symbolizes the fall of communism, not its rise. L.E. Lynch Bonners Ferry, Idaho

Let’s also be graphic about abortion

Re: “Nurse’s trauma drives tough talk” (Dec. 8).

I applaud Betsey Curtin’s efforts to depict for teenagers the too frequent results of their careless driving. Fifty minutes of tough-love talk and slides depict, for example “an unidentifiable bloody mass. What you are looking at is her brain” (of a teenage girl who wasn’t wearing a seat belt) are intended to help teenagers make better decisions about automobile driving. Curtin says, “They don’t want it sugar-coated. They want the truth. If you give kids the right information, they’ll make the right decisions.”

How ironic. If a pro-life nurse or doctor describes the bloody mess, or shows slides of a dismembered aborted baby, or describes how a doctor pierces the skull of a baby and sucks out its brains (partial-birth abortion), the media and many others would protest vigorously, citing psychological trauma for the readers and viewers.

I believe if we give people the whole truth, all the facts, about abortion, they will make pro-life decisions. James J. Flynn Spokane

Parents’ involvement crucial

Johnny cannot move up in school because his parents refuse to take responsibility for his education. It is not just the teacher’s job to educate a child but the parents’ loving responsibility to get one on one and help with the learning.

We have a child who is 11 years old. My wife gets right in there with our daughter and learns right along with her, to help her learn. Our daughter is in the fifth grade. She has been tested by the state and found to be doing seventh-grade work. You can do the same thing, even if you work at a job. You can, that is, if you care for your child. Jim Wilbur Spokane

We of North Central are grateful

On behalf of the North Central High School students and staff, I thank all who contributed food and necessity items to our North Central Food and Necessities Drive.

The students raised almost 47,000 items for Our Place and Ogden Hall. These charities serve hundreds of less fortunate Spokane families throughout the year. Items such as canned food, toothpaste, diapers, laundry detergent and spaghetti noodles were donated to the many North Central students who collected during the 10-day drive. Please accept our sincerest thanks and wishes for a safe and happy holiday season. Matt Johnson leadership teacher, North Central High School, Spokane