Healing cultural wounds must be priority
Indigenous Peoples Day in October and a call to Native corporations, the church, academia, and those with altruistic motives to assist others:
The four young adults in Hooper Bay that ended their own lives in less than one month is a call to action, but what action? Is the cause of this crisis their lack of hope for a meaningful future?
How do you balance ethnic pride and connectedness to your past with a desire for present-day social connections and a purpose in life? How much encouragement do young people receive to experience life outside their own village in an extended, deeper way than a short trip here and there? What is wrong with promoting more regional boarding schools or other positive residential experiences? Did the forced evacuations during World War II corrupt our perception of the boarding school? Did the sexual abuse by the Catholic priests eliminate the possibility of trusting the church in general?
There are many wounds that can be healed. I hope the renaming of Columbus Day to Indigenous Peoples Day is another sign of that occurring. And I am encouraged by the success stories of the Alaska Native Science and Engineering Program. And in the same vein, a school like the Galena Interior Learning Academy provides the same opportunities. Let's hear more about these successes, as well as other efforts on any level, to reach out to those in relative isolation to help them find hope for their futures.
— Valerie Haney
Anchorage
Convinced fracking not a sensible option
When I looked online to see any feedback to my letter against removing the crude oil export ban, I had a response from Lela Markham, writer/publisher at Lela Markham Publications. She advised me to Google "fracking."
According to "Food & Water Watch," fracking poses many water-related risks. In order to extract oil and gas, drillers inject millions of gallons of fracking fluids made up of water, chemicals and sand into underground rock formations. It is done at extreme pressure to create cracks in the rock so any oil and gas exposed by fractures will escape and flow into wells.
It can deplete and contaminate local water. The millions of gallons of water it takes to frack a well can draw down local surface and groundwater resources. Many of the chemicals used are toxic and can contaminate water resources if spilled or leaked.
The gas can also leak through the ground to nearby water wells. It is also a safety hazard because it is highly flammable. Fracking also produces wastewater with no good disposal options. After a well is fracked, a portion of the water remains underground. The rest is recovered as wastewater which contains fracking chemicals, dissolved solids and radioactive material from underground. Conventional wastewater treatment plants are not equipped to handle it. Attempts to treat it create solid waste disposal problems, especially if radioactivity accumulates to high levels. Disinfecting at one plant poses problems for those downstream. Injecting it back underground is causing earthquakes. There's lots more. Fracking doesn't appear to be a sensible option.
— Della Dempsey
Wasilla
Improve safety on Flattop
When someone hikes Flattop Mountain, shouldn't someone take care of the trail so no one gets hurt or dies? I think that the trail should be checked once or twice a week to make sure that it is safe. The stairs on the trail should be fixed and have a rail so that no one can slip on the gravel and steps. When I went to Flattop a month ago, I slipped down the stairs and received a long, giant cut on my shin because there was loose gravel on the steps.
I do believe that someone should send maintenance to the Flattop trail and fix it.
— Melanie Largent
Anchorage
Earned income, child tax credits vital for Alaskans
An Oct. 10 ADN article about the potentially beneficial health impacts of the PFD mentioned another important economic boost for Alaskans, the earned income tax credit. The EITC is a pro-work tax credit for low- and moderate-income workers, which encourages work and reduces poverty. Annually, the EITC and the child tax credit lift 14,000 Alaskans, including 7,000 children, out of poverty. However, in 2017, key provisions of the EITC and child tax credit are set to expire, which would cause 41,000 children in 22,000 Alaska families to lose some or all of their working family tax credits. In 2012, the EITC put $102 million into the Alaska economy, boosting financial security for recipients and creating a stronger economy overall. Congressional inaction would allow 31,000 Alaskans to fall into, or deeper into, poverty. As Alaskans who appreciate the economic boost of the PFD, we must ask our members of Congress to protect the earned income tax credit and child tax credit, which serve as vital supports for thousands of hardworking Alaska families.
— Susan Fleurant
Chugiak
Time to acknowledge we're all in this together
Global warming and climate change are real. The permafrost if melted will release hydrogen sulfide that will kill everyone in Alaska. Although it may take 50 years or so, the whole human race on planet Earth will die and become extinct because we did not do enough to stop global warming and climate change. Brothers and sisters, we are living in the golden age, but the young people and children are the ones who will suffer the most in the future because of global warming: droughts, food shortages, lack of potable water, horrific storms killing thousands of people, rising sea levels that will threaten the existence of cities on the ocean, for example New York City, and rising ocean temperatures which will kill off the salmon and other life forms in the ocean. The list is too lengthy for this letter.
I currently hold stock options controlling 23,000 shares of British Petroleum. The price of oil should be at a minimum $60 a barrel, and will probably rise to somewhere between $70 to $90 a barrel in 2016. If you doubt that analysis, go online and read. In the short term oil is necessary, until a form of "free energy" can be found.
I intend to use the money I earn in the capitalist marketplace to help the poor and raise awareness about global warming and to end homelessness in Anchorage. We human beings can make a difference, if we recognize that we are human beings first, irrespective of our skin color, our language differences, our religious and spiritual beliefs or sexual differences.
Peace.
— Jed Whittaker
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 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.