Letters for Dec. 20, 2024
The Earth is round
News alert! The Earth is round! It is covered by atmosphere! This atmosphere travels around the entire planet on atmospheric rivers. The entire land mass of the United States is less than one-tenth of the land mass of the entire planet. There will never be a clean air zone or a dome over Washington state, no matter how many of my tax dollars are spent on it. Footnote: Countries bombing each other does affect our atmosphere!
Flora Strand
Spokane Valley
Activist deserves admiration
I love Washington state and its gorgeous natural landscapes with its towering green pine trees, serene mountainous views, and abundant animals.
I agree with Barbara Miller (“Pollution Warrior: Barbara Miller has spent decades advocating for her Silver Valley community poisoned by mining operations,” Dec. 1) about how she would do anything for the place she calls home. Although she calls Idaho her home, Washington and Idaho share many of the same grounds. I would love to recognize her advocation for her community, which was poisoned by mining operations in Idaho. Despite the differences between states, smelter smog still enters Eastern Washington. I would not want to live in an environment that is hard to breathe in and holds dying trees and foliage.
More people should know about Barbara and why she was awarded Woman of the Year. I admire her for her commitment and sacrifice. Many people pestered her, saying that her work would not make a difference and that none of what she did was worth the time. Yet she kept working hard to make a difference in her community by advocating for environmental cleanup in Idaho’s Silver Valley, titled the largest superfund cleanup site in the U.S.
As a citizen and a Washingtonian, I want to advocate for the people affected by Idaho’s mining operations. I owe it to my community and state to support Barbara as a Woman of the Year and an environmental activist of our time. I was deeply inspired to read that she owes it to the grace of God for the work that she does.
Victoria Frias
Elk
No need to drive your sleigh
For the past several weeks, my wife and I have boarded the No. 74 bus for the 35-minute ride to downtown Spokane. No worry about parking. From the STA, we are able to walk to the Davenport and River Park Square. All the streets, stores and hotels are packed with shoppers and visitors. It reminds me of the days gone by when my parents would take us kids downtown to see Santa and all the stores that were decorated to the hilt with lights and greenery.
Kids ride free. For seniors with a pass, it is only a buck. It is a great way to start a family Christmas tradition.
Jim Baumker
Liberty Lake
Getting to the point about porcupines
Thank you very much for Linda Weiford’s thoughtful Dec. 15 article, “Cool critters: A license to quill.” I learned a tremendous amount about North American porcupines and enjoyed doing so.
My gosh, I had no idea that they spend their winters in tree tops and drop little bits of their food to the ground, where other animals eat it.
It’s about time porcupines got some ink in the news. Now that they’re getting a bit of much-deserved media attention, let’s hope biologists will “fight for their right” to get more of it.
Tom Hundley
Seattle