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Many hands can help keep our coasts clean

By LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Published January 8, 2007

Green Armada sets sail Jan. 4, story 

I read with great interest the article about the Green Armada and its admirable mission to not only remove trash from Tampa Bay, but also to raise awareness about this dirty problem.

Litter strewn on the Howard Frankland Bridge, the Courtney Campbell Causeway or anywhere in our community is not just an ugly, unfortunate eyesore but also a death trap for native wildlife that make this area so special.

Sea turtles often eat plastic bags, mistaking them for jellyfish, and then starve to death because they can't digest them. Cigarette butts littering the side of a road resemble the same leaves and twigs that birds collect to make their nests. Unfortunately, the filters may still contain toxins and other chemicals that the birds then lay their eggs on. Monofilament fishing line - made to be durable and long-lasting - ensnares birds, manatees and other marine life long after it's been lost or discarded.

What is so frustrating about marine debris is that it's completely preventable. Every fall, the Ocean Conservancy sponsors the International Coastal Cleanup (ICC) to get hundreds of thousands of people around the world out onto beaches, coastlines, lakes and rivers to see firsthand how much trash is out there, and to remove it from the environment.

This past year, nearly 5,500 volunteers in Pinellas and Hillsborough counties collected more than 146,000 pounds of trash. Statewide, more than 500,000 pounds of marine debris removed from our pristine beaches and waterways. That's hundreds of thousands of fewer chances for marine life to ingest or become entangled in something that will cause them to suffer and die.

ICC volunteers become invaluable ambassadors that remind, teach and inspire other people not to litter. It's not just about the trash and how much is out there, but how it impacts the ecosystem we live in. It's up to each of us individually to make a difference! I hope you'll join us and bring a friend.

Kathryn Novak, volunteer programs and outreach coordinator, the Ocean Conservancy, St. Petersburg

Protesting too much 

Scientists fault Exxon on "debate" Jan. 4, story

So the Union of Concerned Scientists is up in arms because Exxon Mobil dared to give research money to groups that might actually disagree with UCS's politicized opinion that mankind is causing climate change, a theory they routinely misrepresent as fact. It is telling that these "experts" have to repeatedly remind us that the debate has ended on this topic! If debate has ended, exactly whom are they addressing?

If the consensus is so broad among scientists on this issue, why do these so-called experts get upset when someone challenges their conclusions? True scientists delight in opportunities to explain their position.

Everyone knows the Earth is getting warmer as it continues to emerge from the last Ice Age. I was first taught this in 1958 in third grade. What continues to be unknown are the complex mechanisms by which our climate continuously changes, as it has since Earth's birth. One fact is that no existing climate model even comes close to explaining previous climate change, but these self-anointed experts expect you to believe that they can accurately predict future climate change with these same models!

The only proper response when scientists tell you that you must believe in their position without debate or you are wrong, is to see them for their agenda-driven selves and ignore them.

Warren Kent, PE, Treasure Island

An image of doom

A statement of Earth's fragility collapses into a pile of rocks Jan. 5, photo

The picture of the 175-ton sculpture called Spaceship Earth, after having suddenly collapsed into a pile of rubble, is the perfect metaphor for what awaits the world if the policies of President Bush and the Republicans are not quickly reversed.

There's the George Bush Desert Classic in Iraq and its estimated, eventual, overall cost of $2-trillion and thousands of killed and wounded soldiers, as well as global warming, the loss of our precious civil liberties, the war on the environment, huge tax giveaways to the wealthy and their corporations, tens of millions without access to medical care, a stagnant minimum wage, massive budget deficits, crooked electronic voting and widespread hunger. And the snarling response by the Republicans to all of these problems is: fear, smear and queers.

The rubble of the Spaceship Earth sculpture shows where this country and the planet are headed unless drastic remedial actions are taken soon.

John Connolly, St. Petersburg

Grieving over Iraq

As a Purple Heart veteran who was wounded in World War II, I grieve for the families of the 3,000-plus U.S. casualties in Iraq. My grief extends to the 22,000-plus wounded who will carry their wounds the rest of their lives.

I also grieve for the more than 100,000 Iraq civilians who have died. The rationale for the war was a sham, and it is time to bring all the troops home. Let the Iraqi people come up with a solution.

Sol Helfand, New Port Richey

Hero and villain

President tops two lists: Top hero, villain Dec. 29, brief

A poll by Associated Press and AOL News gave President Bush top awards as both hero and villain. His poll rating as villain should have been 100 percent for not trying to bring our troops home. What did he do to deserve the hero award? He came in ahead of the troops in Iraq.

The troops are the heroes - 100 percent heroes. More than 3,000 men and women have died so far. How many more will die before they can come home? Ask anybody from the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the American Legion, Amvets, Korean War Vets who the heroes are.

I am a proud Korean War veteran.

Robert J. Morrell, New Port Richey

[Last modified January 7, 2007, 21:55:13]