Skip to content
Link copied to clipboard

Letters to the Editor

In calling for more domestic oil production and diminishing the need for developing clean energy technologies, John Peterson ("Post-spill policies creating a crisis," April 20) is simply repeating the mantra of "drill, baby, drill."

Now is the time to develop green tech

In calling for more domestic oil production and diminishing the need for developing clean energy technologies, John Peterson ("Post-spill policies creating a crisis," April 20) is simply repeating the mantra of "drill, baby, drill."

The current trend toward record-high gas prices should signal to the American public that it is not economically feasible to remain reliant on fossil fuels. Increased energy efficiency and green technology would not only promote a healthier environment, but would also lessen demand for carbon-based fuels and thereby lower their cost.

China is moving ahead of the United States in developing green technology, from wind turbines and solar panels to hydroelectric power and high-speed rail. The nation that leads in the development and manufacture of green technology will own the economic future. If the powers that be in this country do not wise up soon, that nation will be China, not the United States.

Bill Fanshel

Bryn Mawr

wfanshel@hotmail.com

nolead begins

The way to cut down on plastic-bag use

Regarding plastic bags ("With big growth in use, reusable bags may not have the environmental benefit once thought," Friday), the only sure-fire way to significantly reduce their numbers is to charge for them. If they can do it in South Africa, why not here?

How about 50 cents a bag?

Amy Kietzman

Philadelphia

nolead begins

Here and Texas: The difference

Gov. Corbett is either not very smart or thinks Pennsylvania residents are stupid. He wants Pennsylvania to look like Texas, but won't support an extraction tax on drilling. He thinks comparisons drawn between Texas and Pennsylvania are not fair because Pennsylvania has property taxes and a state income tax, while Texas does not.

But the reason Texas doesn't have property or income taxes is because it gets revenue from oil and gas extraction. Alaska has the same deal.

Pennsylvania levies taxes on residents, but not on the companies extracting our natural resources. These companies are also exempt from paying property taxes if they buy the land to drill on.

So is Corbett unable to understand the absurdity of his statements, or does he think he can dupe us? I suspect it's a little bit of both, given that he also said that the $1 million in campaign contributions he received from the drilling industry did not in the least influence his decision not to tax them.

Kelli Hoover

Pennsylvania Furnace

nolead begins

What works to end school violence

I agree with State Auditor General Jack Wagner's assertion that the nonprofit and private sectors must become committed to the issue of school safety ("Violent city schools are result of a lack of strong leadership," Sunday). This is why Public Citizens for Children and Youth and a coalition of local organizations have supported the use of Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports across the School District of Philadelphia. Already in place in more than 10,000 schools nationwide, PBIS and other evidence-based practices have been documented to improve school culture and climate and reduce violence and truancy.

In other words, we know what works. The district and the School Reform Commission should commit to implementing these strategies to make our schools safer for learning.

Caroline L. Watts

Senior lecturer

University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education

Philadelphia

nolead begins

Minute Suites are an old idea revived

As a retired flight attendant for U.S. Airways, I enjoyed reading Linda Loyd's article on the Minute Suites at Philadelphia International Airport ("Phila. airport hailed as a retail gateway," Sunday).

The concept, however, is not exactly new.

In the early '70s, I was based at Washington National Airport with Piedmont Airlines. Between the Piedmont terminal and the main terminal was a building called something like "Air-Wait." It looked like a double-wide trailer on a pedestal. Each unit contained a single bed, a chair, and a combination shower/sink/toilet. I only used it once, during a particularly long wait between my own scheduled working flights.

Eventually, it closed. I suspect this was in part because deregulation compelled the airlines to begin hub-and-spoke operations, which usually have travellers on a tight connecting time when they arrive from the spoke city to the hub city. This, in turn, minimizes the need for something like Minute Suites.

But now it has all come full circle. More passengers are arriving throughout the day and have hours of waiting for their international connections. I suspect that once word gets around about these Minute Suites at Philly, you will see them being reserved by the flight attendants and pilots who commute from the West Coast and other out-of-state locations. Who wants to wait for a van to go to a nearby hotel for a few hours of rest until scheduled check-in, when you can get away from it all right at the airport?

Kay McDonald

Jeffersonville

kaymc757@comcast.net

nolead begins

Feature new poets every April

Congratulations on John Timpane's "Pulsing with verse" Sunday, which so skillfully condensed so many interviews. The young poets look inviting.

The Inquirer must do this every April!

Daniel Hoffman

Swarthmore

The writer was U.S. poet laureate, 1973-1974.