Today's Letters: It's time for Florida to get serious about solar energy

By LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Published June 18, 2007

On our license plates, we read "Florida, the Sunshine State." But how are we really utilizing this sunshine? Only to enjoy a milder climate or have a nice suntan? What if we tried to utilize the sun for our homes? We could save energy and pay fewer dollars at the end of the month. In many countries - with much less sun - they do much more.

President Bush and former Vice President Al Gore have each analyzed the issue from different points of view. However, both are encouraging us to do something toward energy conservation and efficiency by using alternative energy sources. Many industries now are working to produce new systems to obtain these results, especially by utilizing solar energy. I would therefore like to propose the following: - The governor of Florida, together with the mayors of the cities, could organize a meeting in order to make it possible that our state will not only be "the Sunshine State" but rather the one that makes the best use of it. In fact, Tampa's Mayor Pam Iorio has already set a good example by choosing to purchase hybrid cars for herself and her staff. - As an architect and builder, I would like to find opportunities that help us introduce new building techniques for our homes so that we could have better insulation and save energy.

These are two practical and urgent ideas that I hope will be able to find adequate and necessary approval. Such initiatives could also attract national and foreign capital for new firms in this sector and create new job opportunities. The media - press and television - can help us enormously to discuss a new energy policy with the citizens. The sun could be our oil!

We already have the sun and the intelligence to begin with. And it's already a good start.

Luca Mazzacurati, Ph.D., Tampa

Check thermostats

We are constantly being urged to conserve energy by setting our thermostats accordingly. I believe 78 degrees in the summer is recommended. What are the policies for public places?

Most public places are kept extremely cold in the summer. I checked the setting on a thermostat in a city community center and it was at 68 degrees. At a college it was set at 65 degrees.

I wonder if this has something to do with the custom of people wearing business suits with jackets instead of just a dress shirt, which would be cooler. If this is the case, it doesn't make any sense to me. Does wasting energy and causing more global warming for appearances' sake make sense to you?

Consider also the cost of electricity for government offices. Cities keep trying to find ways to cut spending and lower property taxes. Why don't they take a look at their thermostats?

B. Leslie Rudloff, Safety Harbor

We need to restore some fiscal sanity 

Defusing our fiscal time bomb June 14, editorial

As a delegate to the 2005 White House Conference on Aging, I was alarmed to hear David Walker, the U.S. comptroller general, roll off the statistics illustrating the bankrupt condition of our nation. Since then it has gotten worse!

Our politicians in the federal government have allowed this to take place by abdicating their responsibility of leadership. By avoiding the hard decisions that have to be made, they have passed this backbreaking burden of debt to our great-grandchildren and beyond.

This is unforgivable!

Action needs to be taken now! No one receiving more than $100, 000 a year can justify taking Social Security from those who need it so desperately. Medicare/Medicaid cannot continue to be received by those who continue to desecrate their health by tobacco use and excessive use of drugs, alcohol and other body-damaging substances.

Accountability, responsibility, self-control and preventive-care practices involving individuals in their own well-being must be implemented. Self-destructive policies must not be condoned.

Further, the global balance of payments must be brought under control. Deficit spending must cease.

Each of the candidates for president should pledge to put our fiscal house in order if elected. This is a deadly serious matter.

Everyone should demand action by elected officials. Presidential candidates must commit to this in their platforms.

Austin R. Curry, executive director, Elder Care Advocacy of Florida, Tampa

A useful reminder 

Defusing our fiscal time bomb June 14, editorial

If ever an article deserved to be on Page 1, surely it was this. This was a very important wake-up call that should be cut out and kept in a safe place by all Times readers, until the next State of the Union according to George Bush speech. At that time it should be retrieved and held in hand while Bush paints his usual pie-in-the-sky picture of our economy.

This, of course, will differ greatly from the grave outlook presented in the editorial by David Walker and the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office. I know whom I believe. David Walker is an experienced and dedicated CPA who has been speaking out on this subject for months, and anybody who chooses to doubt his words and put their faith in Bush and Dick Cheney should give a thought, if not to themselves, then to their children and grandchildren, who, if nothing is done to correct the situation, will pay the price for the incompetence and fiscal irresponsibility of the Bush administration.

R. G. Wheeler, Lealman

Posturing aplenty

Political diversion June 15, letter

The letter writer suggests that Maureen Dowd "sees right through political hypocrisy whenever it surfaces." This is true, except when it comes to political hypocrisy by a Democrat.

The nonstop chatter about any issue is an affliction of both political parties. When it comes to Social Security, this issue would have been addressed except for the fact that the Democrats under orders from Nancy Pelosi refused to even begin discussions with the Republicans. The one brave Democrat, Rep. Robert Wexler of Florida, who tried to begin discussions, was quickly chastised by Pelosi.

The question now is: Will the Democrats stop fixating on abortion and gays and discuss the issues that affect all Americans?

Louis Ciardulli, Safety Harbor

A needed firing 

Zealous DUI deputy is fired June 15, story

I take my hat off to the internal affairs department of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office. I'm sure what they had to do wasn't easy, but when weighed against how many lives Deputy Daniel Brock helped to ruin it had to be done.

In my opinion DUI enforcement is similar to the old witch hunts of yore and it keeps me home and away from bars. Although the law says you can drink and drive afterward, with up to a 0.07 percent blood alcohol level, I've always known that overzealous enforcers can bend the rules in their favor.

Daniel Orsello, Tampa

Oversized students 

Schools share blame June 10, letter

The letter writer states: "There are too many teachers in all our school systems who just pass the students on to the next grade just to get rid of poor students."

As a public school teacher, I agree that many students are academically or administratively passed on to the next grade. However, the reasons usually are the student's age, size or disruptive behavior.

The alternative is what I experienced three years ago at a local middle school. There was a 6-foot-4, 17-year-old seventh-grader sitting next to 11- and 12-year-olds. The majority of boys in my seventh-grade math class were bigger than I was! Many of the students were 15 and 16 years old. The boys would be all over the little sixth- and seventh-grade girls, who really liked all of the attention. Would you want your daughter in this school?

This is what happens when you retain students over and over again. There really are students (and parents unfortunately) who just don't care about school or learning.

Complaints without suggestions are meaningless. I think we need specially designated schools for students who are retained for a second year. These students can then learn a more appropriate academic curriculum in an environment where they can excel. This helps these underachievers and the rest of the student body as well.

Jim McKenna, Tampa

[Last modified June 17, 2007, 22:37:12]