The sun’s light is reflected off a body of water as the Earth is photographed from the International Space Station on Dec. 2. (Courtesy NASA, AFP/Getty Images)
Re: “Eight ways to save the planet,” Dec. 6 Perspective.
I was surprised that your article left out conservation technologies as part of the solution. Itap not as sexy as wind and solar, nor is it as controversial as a carbon tax or nuclear energy. It works, though, and itap an easy measure for almost all parties to get behind.
Most measures — such as efficient LED lighting — are all-around positive. They pay for themselves in energy and maintenance savings. They help to reduce the number of peaking power plants that need to be built. Most utilities help you pay for the efficiency upgrades. The companies that participate in the industry employ well-paid professionals like architects, electricians and engineers. Plus, the technologies are better, so you get a better end product.
End users, contractors, government, environmentalists, utilities, manufactures, our children — basically everyone wins with conservation.
So while parties argue about climate change, we all should get together for a big plate of energy efficiency and eat up like itap the holidays. There’s plenty of it out there, and itap tasty stuff.
Scot Kelley, Cherry Hills Village
This letter was published in the Dec. 13 edition.Bravo to The Denver Post for publishing this Perspective piece. As pointed out in one of the eight ways, an important element is to disseminate information. And what better way to do that than through the press?
Of the eight suggestions, the most promising in terms of gaining popular support is through a revenue-neutral tax on CO2. Studies have shown that it is more efficient, less costly, and more effective than regulation in reducing CO2 emission levels — using market forces and American ingenuity to find alternatives to generating energy through fossil fuels. It is a plan that can be supported by the full spectrum of political ideologies.
Although returning the revenue through reduced income taxes, as suggested by Bob Inglis (former Republican congressman from South Carolina and executive director of republicEn) is an efficient way of returning the revenue, because a CO2 tax is very regressive, a more equitable way would be through an equal per-capita dividend to all citizens.
Douglas M. Alde, Denver
The author of this article (Bloomberg View’s Christopher Flavelle) overlooked the most effective and immediate remedy of all: reduce the human population. This would require that 1. All objections to any form of birth control be refused by governments everywhere; 2. Girls and women be educated so that they may do something with their lives besides procreate; 3. The guideline of One Woman, One Child be established.
In fact, everybody should be educated about birth control and be taught that this is what we need to do to save the world. Maintaining a worldwide pool of cheap labor (aka overpopulation) has become unsustainable.
Susan P. Williams, Lakewood
This letter was published in the Dec. 13 edition.
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