Letters 06-02-2014

EMAIL LETTERS TO: info@northernexpress.com

Please keep your letter under 300 words (one page). Only one letter per reader in a two month period will be accepted. may be edited for length or to correct factual errors. Letters must be signed to be considered for print and a phone number is required for verification. Faxed letters are not accepted.

Just Imagine

I read the recent version of "Crossed" with interest. I can only respond by quoting Mr. Lennon: "Imagine there’s no heaven It’s easy if you try No hell below us Above us only sky Imagine all the people Living for today... Imagine there’s no countries It isn’t hard to do Nothing to kill or die for And no religion too Imagine all the people Living life in peace"...

Tom Speers, Fife Lake

Stop The Fluoridation

The decision of the Boyne City Commissioners to stop adding fluoride to the water supply is very good news for the citizens.

The substance being poured into water supplies across the country is a manmade, unrefined, toxic waste by-product of the phosphate fertilizer industry called hydrofluosilicic acid. It is a highly corrosive liquid that requires full protective equipment to handle. Being non-purified, it also contains other waste by-products such as lead, arsenic, heavy metals and other substances. This is not pharmaceutical grade product; it comes straight from the scrubbers of the smoke stacks of the phosphate fertilizer industry. Yes, it’s toxic waste.

Remember when the experts told us tobacco was safe? The experts told us asbestos, DDT, DES, Thalidomide, PCBs and Agent Orange were safe.

Water fluoridation flies in the face of sound pharmacology practice. It is dangerous because you cannot control how much fluoride a person is consuming and it accumulates over time in the bones. Fluoride is also used in pesticides and many nonorganic foods have high residues on them.

In 2010 the US Center for Disease Control published that 41 percent of U S children aged 12 -15 have dental fluorosis, meaning they had too much fluoride exposure during their early childhood, confirming that American children are being over-exposed to fluoride.

Adding fluoride to water is unscientific and unethical. Public water fluoridation is a "one size fits all" system to mass medicate the public. That is why communities all over the world are saying NO to fluoridation.

If you want to use fluoride toothpaste or mouthwash, that is your choice. But no one should be forced to drink it.

Call your commissioners, come to the meeting, and let them know where you stand.

Jinny Heick, Boyne City

The Reality at Griswold Mountain

Recent letters to the editor to local newspapers by some Griswold Mountain racetrack supporters have contained hostile references to "the anti-trackers" that cloud the fact that racing on the mountain is a zoning issue, not an issue of class warfare nor a debate about economic development in Indian River. By continuing to argue the vague and unsubstantiated claim that motorcross on the mountain is God’s answer to the economic calamity of Cheboygan County is to miss the point entirely.

First of all, it isn’t, and second, the "it’s the economy stupid" argument is not relevant to the zoning process per the ten factors the Commissioners have been instructed to follow. The anti-trackers to whom these writers refer are by and large not against racing in Indian River. We are against locating a racetrack in our quiet residential community. Protecting against inappropriate land use and defending property owners’ rights is precisely why zoning regulations exist, and why zoning boards were created.

It is offensive to condemn the members of the planning commission for investing countless volunteer hours of service and devoting themselves to administering those rules fairly and honestly. If one doesn’t like the outcome, perhaps one should acknowledge failure to having successfully articulated relevant facts at the appropriate time.

Track supporters would also do well to reflect on the fact that retirees, seasonal homeowners and vacationers are the economic backbone of northern Michigan. Ranting about the "rich...transplants...trying to run things their way" unproductively galvanizes the community with divisiveness and suspicion. Seasonal residents may not vote here, but they do buy groceries, eat in local restaurants, and pay taxes. Devaluing their properties or driving them away is self-destructive.

It seems to me that we would be better off working together to find alternatives to the proposed Griswold Mountain location and brainstorming other growth ideas for our community.

After all, we are all in this thing together.

Charles D. Willmott, Indian River

Renewable Energy and Fracking

When Edison figured out how to harness electricity, the world was changed. What a wonderful addition to our lives. And now we have the knowhow to produce our needs from wind and solar which means we no longer need to drill these awful wells to produce natural gas. And no more fracking.

But there are a couple of problems. We haven’t figured out a way to store large quantities of electricity for long periods of time. And since the wind doesn’t always blow and the sun doesn’t always shine, we must either be prepared to do without electricity for extended periods, or have the generating capacity available to produce our needs. I think we will all choose not to go without electricity in January.

Now the cost to produce electricity from hydrocarbons is 60 percent to build the generating capacity and 40 percent variable cost...for fuel and operations. And the cost to produce electricity from renewable sources is at least double our current costs. So as we move to renewable energy, costs will double when the wind blows and costs will then double when it doesn’t. I think that means that our costs will double. Nice.

Now on fracking. We drill a gas well to get "natural gas." It is called natural gas because it came from nature. Millions of years ago, little bugs died and decomposed and turned into natural gas. So I propose we change the name from "fracking" to "enhanced environmentally friendly technique for the release of natural remains." Then the ill-informed will love the idea, because it is very clear they will not read the science or learn the truth. It is much better to sit back and act smart while being just the opposite.

Richard Deneau, Gaston, Indiana

View On Our Website