Russia; climate change; Left versus Right; guns; CU South – Boulder Daily Camera

Alvin Blake: Russia: Thinking about our prospects

I don’t know if nuclear first-strike capability is possible. We need to determine if an arms race with Russia could lead to our annihilation; and if so, we need to have both countries agree to a freeze on new nuclear weapons (at least if such a freeze is verifiable.) There should of course be immediate inspection of any suspected nuclear weapon sites. If Russia doesn’t agree to this — and if any diplomatic gesture such as inviting them to join NATO doesn’t work — then we need to have tougher sanctions than we do at present.

We should also (especially if such a freeze is nonverifiable) consider removing the threat by the prospect of increased trade.

Alvin Blake

Boulder

Julie Kaewert: Climate: There is no emergency

Science, reason and fairness to all should be important factors when determining public policy. Sadly, the policy suggested in “Boulder City Council on board for more aggressive climate approach” (June 10), was lacking in all of these.

Boulder’s Interim Director of Climate Initiatives (!) Jonathan Koehn was quoted as saying: “Still, questions remain around Xcel’s investment in natural gas, the pace at which the utility company is decommissioning its fossil-based units and the impacts to the communities that Xcel serves.” You might think he’s concerned about whether Xcel can produce enough energy to responsibly meet our community’s needs — remember the people who died in Texas? — given that obviously neither sun nor wind provides continuous power. He’s not: He’s suggesting Xcel isn’t moving fast enough to impose more costly regulations … and less reliable power.

Fact: As sun and wind fail to rise to the occasion (the sun fails every night), natural-gas power plants must be fired up rapidly, wasting vast amounts of energy. Your power provider relies heavily on traditional fuels, and will for a long time. See why Germany now acknowledges wind can’t meet its needs as hoped after 20 costly years: bit.ly/3zZnsn8.

Fact: we don’t have a climate emergency. Look at all the science. To learn about climate science, visit the NOAA Space Weather Lab; see realclimatescience.com; read “Unsettled: What Climate Science Tells Us, the Neglected Sun, Unstoppable Global Warming, or Apocalypse Never.”

Finally, wasteful, expensive climate policy is unfair to the working middle class and poor, who pay higher taxes to heat their homes and can’t afford Teslas or solar panels.

Someday battery technology may allow us to generate more power with wind and solar. Until then, we need to use science, reason and fairness in meeting our energy needs.

Julie Kaewert

Boulder

Richard Socash: Left and Right: One wants a Borg world

What is the difference between the Left and the Right? Both sides claim the moral high ground and pass judgement on the other. Often the obvious gets lost in opinionated details and one is left confused rather than enlightened.

Simply put, the Right believes in equal opportunity, and the Left believes in equal outcome. One wants to lift up the bottom while the other wants to pull down the top.

Given their way, the Left would create a Borg world where everyone is closer to a number in the collective rather than an individual in society. Intentions may be good but often the result is damaging. Diversity and inclusivity have become the mantra of the Left, and the adult version of participation trophies where merit has been replaced by membership. There’s no seat on the Supreme Court, executive position in any organization, or civic office that is due to any class, race or sex, yet many talk and believe as if this is true. The best “helping hand” is most often found at the end of the wrist.

There was, is, and always will be wrongs and unfairness, but to ascribe strong negatives like “racist” or “privileged” to any one group is often an excuse for failure. When a word is used too freely and often incorrectly, it loses meaning. Try using “behaviorist” instead, where a person’s judgements or actions are the result of confronting other’s behavior rather than being burdened with systemic or inherent human flaws.

Richard Socash

Boulder

Ted Cackowsky: Guns: An utterly absurd statement

“The only way to stop a bad guy with a gun is with a good guy with a gun.” The recent tragedy in Arvada highlights the utterly absurd rationale within this statement.

A police officer (Good Guy) is shot and killed by a Bad Guy. The Samaritan (Good Guy) responds by killing the Bad Guy. Another police officer (Good Guy) becomes involved and kills the Good Guy.

The result being one bad guy dead, two good guys dead, one good guy living with the burden of his actions.

Ted Cackowsky

Broomfield

Charles Horowitz: Mental health: Wake up everyone, please

Wake up to mental health needs: There’s almost three times as many deaths daily in the U.S. by suicide as by homicide — there are 52 homicides per day in the U.S., says the CDC, but about 132 suicides per day . The suicide rate is almost three times as high as the homicide rate, yet we’re talking way more about gun control than mental health.

Yes, gun control is needed, and we’re overlooking worse. That’s a tragic perspective. Decreases in the availability of community mental health services are associated with an increase in suicide mortality rates, research shows. Wake up, everyone, please.

Charles Horowitz

Boulder

Robert Porath: CU South: Not a sacred cow

With its usual alacrity for shunting the negative aspects of its constant expansion onto the citizens of Boulder, the university is skimming the cream off its “south campus” and expecting the city to provide the infrastructure, streets and water and sewage systems, and absorb the increased traffic and pollution with open arms. It is time to stop regarding CU as the city’s Sacred Cow roaming and leaving its footprints et. al. at will.

Robert Porath 

Boulder