Today's Letters: Solar power can do so much more

By LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Published October 8, 2007

Sun catchers Sept. 29 

"In a place that calls itself the Sunshine State, you'd think everybody would be using solar energy," writes Judy Stark in Saturday's Home & Garden section.

Well, yes, indeed, I said to myself. But reading on I was disappointed to see that most of the article concerned just solar water heating, and much of that just for heating pools.

How little we think about sustainability! It's already possible to run your major home circuitry - with the possible exception of massive air conditioning units - utilizing photovoltaic technology, which is becoming cheaper and more efficient all the time.

We installed a system several years ago that runs everything from the water pump to the refrigerator and freezer - handy to have when a hurricane hits, and possibly life-sustaining if the whole grid goes down in the future, which very well may happen in this era of mindless ecosystem overshoot.

Why are we still stuck in the paradigm of erecting big boxes with larger and larger volumes of space to be cooled surrounded by chemical-intensive, aquifer-depleting lawns, when we could be designing homes powered by nature and eating food out of our own gardens instead of importing it from China?

As Stark reports, "It's easiest to do what we've always done," rather than actually using our intelligence.

Ronnie Hawkins, Chuluota

Global warming

The courts as accomplice

With the specter of global warming and abrupt climate change upon us, we are all struggling to understand how/why this calamity occurred in the first place.

This theory works for me:

Our state and federal courts have made decisions leading us toward the path of environmental doom ever since they granted railroads immunity from lawsuits when wood-burning locomotives spewed sparks from smokestacks causing nearby homes to catch fire and burn to the ground.

In a nutshell, global warming and/or abrupt climate change are a direct result of two centuries of judicial decisions granting preference to the vision of unrestrained capitalism over an individual's right to live in a clean, healthy and peaceful environment.

Unlike our mortal judges, Mother Nature's judgment will not be swayed by political opinions or investments in industry. In Florida, her response to American jurisprudence will arrive in the form of seawater rising over rooftops, crops and highways.

David F. Petrano, Esq., Clearwater

Florida Hometown Democracy

The people want a say

I want to thank the Times, Steve Bousquet and Howard Troxler for writing about this matter.

What the Florida Hometown Democracy proposal does is give the people a voice on the type of development being done in our own communities.

The problem is that our voices no longer matter. Our elected officials continue to permit the irresponsible development of our lands resulting in detrimental effects not only to us but our native wildlife. Our unique communities and Floridian lifestyle continue to be sold out to the highest bidder.

Please don't misunderstand me. I am not against development and growth. I am for "responsible" growth. However, enough is enough.

The big land developers and their handsomely paid lobbyist groups who are using unethical means and dirty tricks and telling lies to confuse people are doing so because they are like spoiled children, so used to getting their greedy way on everything, that they won't even allow a reasonable discussion to take place.

What we are seeing is in effect a backlash from citizens who are fed up and desperate to remedy the problem and protect our communities from continued irresponsible growth. Since our elected officials are incapable of doing their jobs and are neglectful of their fiduciary responsibilities, it's time for us to act and take back that responsibility from them in the only way we can.

If elections on development proposals are what it takes to protect Florida, then so be it. The big money developers and our irresponsible elected officials only have themselves and their greed to blame.

Vikki Rosenbaum, Palm Harbor

Bring back hope, end fear of United States of 9/11 Oct. 2, Thomas Friedman column

Our tactics are working

Thomas Friedman ignores an important fact: There has not been another terrorist attack in the United States since 9/11. There have been plenty of really nasty terrorist attacks in Europe.

A lot of the credit for this goes to the restrictions Friedman decries and to the diligent work of the FBI, CIA, DIA, local police, etc. Also, unlike Europe, the Muslims here tend to integrate into society, to become Americans. In Europe they are brooding in miserable ghettoes.

Pete Wilford, Holiday

Bring back hope, end fear of United States of 9/11 Oct. 2, Thomas Friedman column

Learn about our enemies

Tom Friedman said 9/11 has made us stupid. Not all of us, sir.

Before 9/11, I could not discriminate among the Salafi, Wahhabi, Deobandi, and Khumeini extremists. Using my library card, I know what the jihad doctrine of fatah, takfir, tahrir, tawheed and khilafa mean to pluralism, democracy, rule of law and civil rights. It's not pretty.

The point is that the global jihad phenomenon is comprehensible. The ideologues' script, like Hitler's Mein Kampf, was written long ago.

Friedman said one thing with which I agree: We need to unite around a common purpose - not a common enemy. Our enemy is truly uncommon: patient, sophisticated and lethal. Sept. 11 was not a failure of imagination. It was a failure of education on Salafi jihad. Education must be our common purpose if 9/12 is to represent life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Gary Harrington, St. Petersburg

Perpetual motion Oct. 4, Floridian story about the Flip-Flop Man

An uplifting, inspiring story

I have lived in Florida my entire life. Recently I have been discouraged from reading the newspapers for fear of more bad news. I hear of the daily evil we all endure and I see it firsthand as a full-time police officer. The constant stream of articles about the worst in human nature - cases involving Carlie Brucia, Jessica Lunsford, Jennifer Odom and other atrocities - bring down even a seasoned cop's spirit.

But on Thursday I read the article about the "Flip Flop Man." I could not help but smile. This man is not by any means "mainstream." He does what he wants, when he wants and causes no harm to anyone. It was nice to read a profile of someone in the paper who was not a politician or a salesman and was not seeking publicity.

I want to thank the reporter, Jeff Klinkenberg, for taking the time to put something positive and uplifting in the paper. I finished with his article and immediately felt a surge of motivation. If this guy can log 20 miles a day in flip-flops, I can get off my rump and jog a few for better health and well-being. I put on my shoes and logged five miles. It felt great!

The paper has a lot of power to bring down and lift up the spirits of many. Let's tilt the scale toward the positive! Thanks again for a great article.

Shawn Terry, Weeki Wachee

[Last modified October 7, 2007, 20:54:53]