Public forum, Oct. 6

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October 6, 2009

Anonymous Pharos-Tribune Tue Oct 06, 2009, 08:18 AM EDT

‘Cap and trade’ deserves support

We were disappointed to read Brandt Hershman’s letter (Pharos-Tribune, Oct 4) urging the public’s vote against cap and trade legislation.

It is not “dangerous legislation that will harm the United States economy far more than it will help the world’s ecological condition.” It is, rather, a bill with quantitative limits on air pollution that will spur American innovation, reduce our dependence on fossil fuels, improve energy conservation and motivate us to join a trillion-dollar industry.

Sen. Hershman’s concern that the bill will increase the cost of living for Hoosiers by $1,600 per year is based on projections. Truth is, over the years nearly every environmental regulation has resulted in costs significantly less than projected, while benefits were higher. We tend not to give America’s entrepreneurial spirit and innovative creativity enough credit. A few decades ago, automotive manufacturers were mandated to install catalytic converters on all new vehicles for the sake of cleaner air.

The Big Three said it would be their demise. It wasn’t. Costs were significantly less than projected, and our vehicle emissions were improved.

Hershman’s statement that the ecological implications will be “minimal, at best, if the U.S. is the only participant” is interesting. The bill includes a provision for the president to impose a carbon tariff on imports. Given the reliance on American dollars by countries such as China, if we implement cap and trade, we will likely see adoption of the practice worldwide, resulting in broad scale ecological improvements. And there is abundant evidence that other industrialized nations, including China, have moved or are moving ahead with their own clean energy standards and technologies, putting U.S. efforts foolishly behind.

If we miss the opportunity we have with the current energy bill, we miss the stimulus we need to join China, Germany, Japan and others in developing and manufacturing the green energies of tomorrow; we miss what scientists tell us is a crucial, time-limited opportunity to act on behalf of the planet.

And if cap and trade is not fair to Hoosiers, what is? Business as usual, where we remain the sixth highest consumer of fossil fuels and the second highest consumer of coal? Forbes Magazine rated Indiana 49th among states in terms of “toxic waste, lots of pollution and consumption with no clear plans to do anything about it.”

Yes, contact Senators Bayh and Lugar as Mr. Hershman suggests, but with strong support for the energy bill. Help get Indiana on a green path.

Joe and Lee Scheidler

Logansport

Why don’t farmers allow deer hunting?

To all the farmers around Indiana: There is a problem in our counties with deer .Why won’t you let deer hunters on your land to hunt? I have been hunting since i was 16 years old. Now that I’m unemployed, this is how I will feed my family again this year.

I only kill what i can use to feed my family every year. There are a few of us that don't destroy the land left . I don’t use tree pegs. I sit on the ground and hunt.

I’d like to know why. If it’s because you don’t like deer hunters or what.

Fred Reid

Camden

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The Indiana Senate last week approved a bill that would allow public schools to teach creationism in science classes as long as they included origin of life theories from other religions. Would you support such a measure?

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