Letter - Warning signs of weather patterns

To the editor:

The letter written by Retha Dooley, Sauk Centre, printed Echo Press, February 8, 2012, in response to Senator Bill Ingebrigtsen’s opinion piece, has valuable information on solar energy development and our continued reliance on fossil energy and its costs.

It’s not only the havoc wreaked on our lakes and environment from our big coal plants, the largest source (automobiles being second), of man-made pollutants. Another big cost is the health problems it creates. One in 10 young women of child-bearing age has enough mercury in her system that can cause spontaneous abortions and/or birth defects in her unborn child. The parents of a young child with asthma who get up in the middle of the night or be called to school to take their child to the emergency room could tell you of the costs to them in more than dollars from those pollutants spewed into the environment.

So it’s not only the short-term energy costs of our utility bills. I would be remiss as a citizen to not point out the tip of the iceberg of the long-term costs if we fail to address the need for close regulatory watch on our sources for energy. We need to do all we can to cut pollution as much as possible in as many ways possible to save on short and long-term costs for our environment and our society.

There are many warning signs in the changing weather patterns throughout the world. Animal and marine life are in peril due to our overuse of natural resources and climate change. We can no longer afford the time to keep our heads in the sand about climate change. This should not be used as a political football. This is a matter of survival of our Earth.

Joyce Kakac

Alexandria, MN

Tags: opinion, letters