Letters to the Editor

Readers write: Letters to the editor, September 4, 2017

Sinnott spins wheels on trails

In Rick Sinnott's opinion (ADN, Sept. 1), there is a lot of time spent on the various public boards' decision to allow new mountain bike trails to be built on the Hillside. Interestingly, he then starts arguing that mountain biking is dangerous in general, (you can hit birds and bears evidently — also he's a scientist).

But then he goes on to say he is not trying to save mountain bikers from themselves. He is actually out to save the bears from "eradication," following public outcry over a bad bear encounter. It's a turn in the argument that gets too little defense. Do bad encounters actually produce calls from the public at large for eradication? Assuming they do, how have we lasted this long without eradicating moose and bear from the municipality? Most likely, it's because we all agree that to live in Anchorage is to be especially good at putting bad encounters in context. It's worth pointing out public boards (and their members like Sinnott) are partly to thank for this.

Mountain biking should not be curtailed on such theoretical grounds. I will await a more convincing argument before I stop.

— Jason Slemons
Anchorage

Patkotak 'pudgy' analogy

I think Elise Patkotak (ADN, Aug. 30) needs to think more than twice on "no." Her analogy about diet and overweight needs some further thought. First, our state budget is not just overweight — it is obese. Secondly, what comes with diet is discipline and exercise. None of which has been exhibited by the governor or Legislature. Both should consider some "intensity" training in 90 days.

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I agree with Patkotak that we need to slim down to a healthy size. An $8.8 billion budget is nowhere near a healthy size. We have so much fat, we are not in danger of "cutting into the meat of it." Until we trim our calories (spending) we will not get healthy. Need to think more than twice on getting healthy.

— Joe Mathis
Montana Creek

Hypocritical ad slams funding vital to subsistence

Over the last two months ADN has periodically printed a quarter-page ad attributed to the Voice of the Arctic Inupiat comprising 20 Alaska cities, boroughs, associations, corporations and other Native organizations. The ad indicates $1.4 billion is spent yearly by the government to ensure animals and insects remain on the threatened or endangered species list. The ad invites us to imagine the use of this money elsewhere — to improve our schools, health care facilities and other basic services — if that money was spent for the benefit of the people.

I strongly support the suggested improvements, but what I find particularly hypocritical is the implication that this money is better utilized by other uses rather than supporting government work on threatened or endangered species.

You would think for a culture that relies significantly on, and supports, most concepts of subsistence, that these organizations would strongly advocate the government to perform this work to ensure the ecosystem we currently have, not only maintains its status quo, but actually encourages, strengthening and restoring it.

In my opinion, the world would be a better place if we not only had all these societal improvements financially supported but also had financial support for creatures that are part of the pyramid of life on this fragile planet and contribute to our well-being and existence. Instead of advertising against the endangered and threatened species funding, why not lobby against bigger financial drains, such as military spending and other potentially destructive government-funded programs?

— William Petrik
Anchorage

More to beetle devastation than just climate warming

In the early 1980s I bought a truck in Detroit, drove it to Nenana and barged it up to Galena. All along the way I saw the devastation from beetle infestation. The route I took was I-94 north through Wisconsin, Minnesota and North Dakota, then Canada through Saskatchewan, Alberta, the Yukon territory and finally to Alaska. All along the way I saw wide swaths of dead trees.

In the '90s, I lived in Bootlegger Cove in Anchorage, near Seventh Avenue and N Street. In front of my house, a giant beautiful spruce tree died from the spruce bark beetle. A state biologist was outside looking at the tree just before they cut it down. What a shame, I said. She agreed. I asked what caused this. She told me because of the drought, the trees had less fluid. So, the tree doesn't swell up, making it easy for beetles to burrow inside to lay eggs. More eggs hatch, thus the huge infestation of bugs.

It seems now, the cause and the explanation for this phenomenon is the warming planet. There are other theories of how the infestation of spruce-bark beetles and pine-bark beetles, and other bugs, devour the forests. The single explanation of global warming is questionable. I drove the Alaska Highway twice since 2012. It was alarming to see forests lined with dead trees for many, many miles all along the roads. I took the route through the Yukon down into British Columbia, Alberta and Calgary, through Montana, Utah and Colorado. I'll be driving the Alaska Highway to Seattle in two weeks.

There won't be enough memory in a 32-GB photo card to record all the dead forests along the way.

— Ken Caron
Anchorage

True Alaskans register to vote

Be a true Alaskan. Register to vote independent, (initially or as a change). As an independent you can still vote for parties like Republican, Democrat, Green, Libertarian, Constitution, Unity or any other you desire. But if you are registered in a specific party, and you encounter a person or issue with which you might disagree and want someone or something else, you might be restricted in your ability to do so by that party's rules.

Be a true Alaskan — be independent.

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— Steve Williams
Anchorage

The views expressed here are the writers' own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a letter under 200 words for consideration, email letters@alaskadispatch.com, or click here to submit via any web browser. Submitting a letter to the editor constitutes granting permission for it to be edited for clarity, accuracy and brevity. Send longer works of opinion to commentary@alaskadispatch.com.

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