Thank you, Valley News, for publishing the article on plastic pollution (“Scientists: Amount of Straws, Plastic Pollution Is Huge,” April 21). The pollution problem caused by plastic debris is huge — and getting worse. That’s why more than 40 Upper Valley residents took the “No Plastic Pollution Challenge” recently and why the city of Lebanon designated April as “Refill Not Landfill” month. As the article states, one goal is to make single-use plastic culture taboo. No more plastic bags, water bottles, cups, straws or stirrers, used for a moment and then tossed away.
We can make a dent in the toxic flow of plastic debris by following these 10 steps: Carry reusable shopping bags. Bring our own water bottles — even on the plane. Carry a stainless steel travel mug for coffee and other drinks while out in the world. Buy from bulk bins as often as possible and bring our own containers. Choose milk in returnable glass bottles. Avoid plastic produce bags. Say “No, thank you” to plastic straws. Bring our own containers for take-out food and leftovers. Cut out sodas, juices and all other plastic-bottled beverages. Return cartons for eggs, berries, cherry tomatoes, etc. to the farmers market for reuse.
And to stop the disintegration of plastic litter that breaks down into micro-particles contaminating our soil, rivers and eventually ourselves, we can clean up litter in our own communities. Lebanon’s Community Clean Up Day is May 5, from 9 a.m.-noon.
And by the way, it would be good for your subscribers to know that you will take back plastic newspaper delivery bags if they are brought to your office on Interchange Drive in West Lebanon.
Plastic — a material invented to last forever — can no longer be used to make products intended to be thrown away. There is no “away.” For more information, see noplasticpollution.wordpress.com.
Pat McGovern
Lebanon
The New Hampshire House of Representatives recently approved a bill to repeal the state’s death penalty. I strongly support repeal, even though the penalty applies to the fairly narrow circumstances of killing police officers or judges, or killing under torture.
Of course, such acts are heinous and completely unacceptable in any civilized society. Of course, those who commit them should lose their freedom and be forced to contemplate the horrors of their deeds for their remaining lives. Yet, a state decision to take a life is also an uncivilized act that is morally wrong and not worthy of collective respect. Taking command over life and death in a penalty decision involves the luxury of moral deliberation that emergencies involving war or self-defense do not allow. Those who make and carry out such decisions are thus fully responsible for their acts. Executions also model deficient morals for children and youth who are learning norms from their elders and institutions. Finally, the death penalty in the United States is administered unjustly and falls disproportionately on African-Americans and people of color who are often tagged with criminal records at early ages and lack the resources to maneuver complicated and expensive legal hurdles.
The death penalty in New Hampshire has come very close to falling several times. I earnestly hope that this time the people of New Hampshire will speak in a loud voice for a more humane public policy that will honor our state.
Reed Elizabeth Loder
West Lebanon
The first federal minimum wage law was created in 1938. It’s been raised 22 times since then, in addition to many state minimum wage laws. And every single time it has been resisted by business and conservative interests with the same arguments. “It would be disastrous for workers and business. It would mean lost jobs, reduced hours and it would hurt young people.”
There has been quality academic research going back many decades showing that there is no significant correlation between minimum wage increases and reduced employment levels. The losses are minimal, the gains significant.
This time it’s argued that businesses that employ many minimum wage workers can’t afford an abrupt increase that would affect all its workers. But in Vermont, that $4.50 an hour increase (from $10.50 up to $15) is hardly abrupt. It’s an increase over six years.
Another argument is that it would take people off social welfare too abruptly. There is language in the minimum wage bill to address these and other various concerns.
It is, or should be, obvious that these arguments against raising minimum wage laws are inspired not by economic concerns but by ideology. “Don’t interfere with business.” “The welfare of workers is not our concern.” “They deserve to make a meager wage and we, the ones making much more money, deserve the lowest possible prices.”
It’s alarming to think the price of a burger might go up a few cents or the lift ticket a few dollars. Those minimum wage earners are in many cases subsidizing the low prices “we” enjoy.
Contact your state representative and ask her or him to support raising the minimum wage. It will benefit 70,000 working Vermonters. It’s time to close the gap between the haves and have-nots.
Lori Claffee
Springfield, Vt.
I found it interesting that Washington Post columnist Beverly Weintraub would take umbrage at the fact that Tammie Jo Shults, who recently landed a passenger plane safely after one of the plane’s two engines exploded, was referred to as a “female” pilot by the media (“The Southwest Airlines Captain Was a Hero. Period,” April 20).
It is my feeling that there is no reason to hide the fact that the pilot is a woman. On the contrary. She is courageous and level-headed and we need more people like her. It is a reason to celebrate and advertise that, indeed, women can do just about anything a man can do. To know that Shults is a very successful pilot should make young women proud and give them reason to work hard toward a goal of their choice. Let’s not try to be politically correct and bent out of shape because she was referred to as a woman. After all, she is a woman. And a good pilot.
Bob Cattabriga
West Lebanon