LETTERS - Oct. 1

ISSUE | CLIMATE

Made in the shade

Moving a three-century-old trend of industrialization toward one where Earth is respected requires several elements to be in play, which I don't see happening ("Change in the air," Sept. 29).

It's fine to invent newer and better forms of energy and reduce carbon emissions. What about strategically planting trees? Highway engineers who reduce noise by building walls should also plant sturdy, disease-resistant trees like elms. Yeah, the kinds you see lining certain street blocks, which offer nice shade in the hot weather and cool you down while making you breathe better. If every highly populated city had this instead of small pockets of streets, it would make a vast difference.

|Leonard A. Lucenti, Maple Shade

Switch from coal

Since coal-fired facilities generated the most power-plant pollution in 2012, shouldn't we be converting as many as possible to clean-burning natural gas? Switching to gas from coal would reduce CO2 emissions from power plants by half and virtually eliminate many other emissions, and is a step we can take without having to wait for new technology.

|Andrew Terhune, Philadelphia, asterhune@gmail.com

ISSUE | GUN SAFETY

Too many weapons in young hands

I believe Police Commissioner Charles H. Ramsey is serious about keeping "weapons out of the hands of young people in a city where it sometimes seems easier to acquire an illegal TEC-9 than a textbook," as an Inquirer editorial noted ("Gun death toll rises," Sept. 24). But if so, Ramsey's SWAT team needs training on the inappropriateness of putting weapons in the hands of children.

When I attended the Fox Chase Community Night Out in August, I was stunned to watch officers place assault weapons in children's hands. Not once did I hear the officers say a word of caution. At community events, police need to promote gun safety and plead for parents to keep guns safely stored, locked, and away from children.

|Marion Brown, co-coordinator, Northeast Philadelphia Chapter, Heeding God's Call, Philadelphia, brownfam66@comcast.net

ISSUE | TAXI!

Awful service created competition opening

The commentary regarding ride-share services in Philadelphia carried a predictable signature, that of Alex Friedman, president of the Pennsylvania Taxi Association ("Rules of the road must apply to Pa. newcomers too," Sept. 29). His comments regarding public safety are ludicrous, just like the so-called regulation of taxis by the Philadelphia Parking Authority.

Cab drivers in Philadelphia are, as a class, the worst drivers: U-turns in traffic, cutting off cars and buses to get to a fare, speeding through red lights. Regulation? I see nothing but dirty cabs, running on 90-degree days with no air-conditioning, incessant cellphone chatter, and other customer-service insults. Paying for a medallion is all these companies do. If the taxi companies want a monopoly, they had better provide a safer, cleaner, and more professional service.

|Bill Robling, Philadelphia, phillysong2004@yahoo.com

Regulators were looking at you, Uber

I understand that Alex Friedman is writing from his position as president of the taxicab trade group ("Rules of the road must apply to Pa. newcomers too," Sept. 29). But he makes a number of good points, not the least of which being that the ride-sharing service Uber refused to obey a legitimate cease-and-desist order from the state Public Utility Commission. Why should anyone risk becoming involved with a company that ignores lawful regulation and orders?

|Virginia Klipstein, Glenside

ISSUE | HONG KONG PROTESTS

Echoes of American patriots' struggle

What is happening in Hong Kong is our national story ("A loud no to China," Sept. 30). Residents are assembling in rarely matched numbers, insisting on the right to freely nominate and choose those who run their city. Though the 1997 agreement that returned Hong Kong to Chinese rule set universal suffrage as an eventual goal, the central Chinese government is not willing to grant the city this right now and seeks to limit elections to a handful of candidates loyal to Beijing.

Those in the street, many young and all brave, advocate nonviolence and are using masks, goggles, and umbrellas to counter the pepper spray and tear gas used by police to close the protest down. One protest leader claims that those protesting are ready to sacrifice their comfort and safety for the sake of themselves, their children, and their children's children. Those at Lexington and Concord were willing to do the same.

|Gerald D. Klein, Elkins Park, kleinger@rider.edu

ISSUE | ATTORNEY GENERAL QUITS

Resumé included contemptible event

Coverage of U.S. Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr.'s resignation, there was no mention of the elephant in the room: the fact that Holder is the only attorney general ever held in contempt of Congress - by a lopsided 255-67 vote for failing to turn over documents in the infamous Fast and Furious scandal, which left a federal agent dead.

|Leo Iwaskiw, Philadelphia