Opinion

Letter to the Editor: Retain County Parks Director Position

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By MIKE WHEELER
Los Alamos

Los Alamos parks and open spaces are in the best condition they have ever been. Please consider retaining a Parks Director to replace Dick Mcinyre. 

For many years we had no parks director (or landscape architect) and the parks and open spaces looked like it. When the county got serious about our appearance and invested in the parks everything quickly changed.

Today the maintenance is up to date, landscaping is beautiful and trails are popular with both citizens and visitors. Don’t take us back to the bad old days. Continue investing in our future with an organization Read More

Letter to the Editor: UNM-LA a Great Resource for Seniors

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UNM-LA a Great Resource for Seniors
By Colleen Hanlon
Los Alamos

I am a believer in the value of education. I am going to support the upcoming UNM-Los Alamos mil-levy, and I have been encouraging the people I meet to join me in this effort.

Why do I support the mil-levy increase for UNM-LA, and how have I benefited directly from UNM-LA?

About six years ago I registered (at the $5 Senior Rate) to audit a class in Native American Film Studies. I was a little timid about who my classmates would be, and how they would feel about an almost 70 year old in their class.

Well, it was a memorable experience. We enjoyed Read More

Letter to the Editor: We Are Using Too Many Pencils

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We Are Using Too Many Pencils
By HAILEY MCDOWELL
Third grader at Aspen Elementary School

How many pencils do we use in each school and how many pencils do we need? 

On this year’s school supply list, third graders were asked to bring 48 pencils. Is that too much? I think so! 

I think we could each use just two pencils and sharpen them when they get dull. I wonder, how many trees can be saved if each student would bring only two pencils to school rather than 48.

You can make about 300,000 pencils out of one tree. If there are 400 students in a school and each brings 48 pencils, that is 19,200 pencils Read More

Letter to the Editor: ‘Not-Back-to-School’ Breakfast

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Retirees to Meet at Not-Back-to-School Breakfast
By Judy Crocker
Los Alamos

If you live in the Western Area, you’ve heard the High School Band back at work, and should you try to drive through the Middle School parking lot to see the new building, oops, you can’t – new portables are being moved in. This part of the summer must be getting us ready for Back to School.

Los Alamos Public School Retired Employees are invited to the organization’s only yearly meeting at the Not-Back-to-School Breakfast Wednesday, Aug. 14. Breakfast is at 9:30 a.m. and will be held at Kelly Hall of Trinity on the Hill Episcopal Read More

Letter to the Editor: Brief Response to ‘Weak Correlation Between CO2 and Temperature …’

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By Stephen Price and Charles Keller
Los Alamos
 

We have responded briefly to the writer’s comments, which are in quotes, and written additional comments of our own. We are happy to provide scientific journal citations to support any of our statements made below.

“A weak short-term correlation between CO2 and temperature proves nothing about causation. Proponents of the notion that increases in the air’s CO2 content lead to global warming point to the past century’s weak correlation between atmospheric CO2 concentration and global air temperature as proof of their contention.”

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Letter to the Editor: Response to “Weak Correlation Between CO2 and Temperature’ …

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Response to “Weak Correlation Between CO2 and Temperature Proves Nothing About Causation” by J.G. Beery from Los Alamos.
By Liviu Popa-Simil

I have to disagree in part with the author, because it presents just a part of the problem.

The CO2 and all the green house effects are based on the relationship between transmission absorption coefficients of the gases in the day light spectrum (light coming from sun) and night spectrum (light emitted by the Earth, mainly in IR), and has a logarithmic variation with partial pressure (concentration) of a gas or composite particles.

The good news observed

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Letter to the Editor: Weak Correlation Between CO2 and Temperature Proves Nothing About Causation

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By J.G. Beery
Los Alamos

There is little doubt the air’s CO2 concentration has risen significantly since the inception of the Industrial Revolution; and there are few who do not attribute the CO2 increase to the increase in humanity’s use of fossil fuels.  

 
There is also little doubt the earth has warmed slightly over the same period; but there is no compelling reason to believe that the rise in temperature was caused by the rise in CO2. Furthermore, it is highly unlikely that future increases in the air’s CO2 content will produce any global warming; for there
Read More

Letter to the Editor: Universal Car Seats and Pediatric Vision Plans

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Universal Car Seats and Pediatric Vision Plans

By Lisa Shin
Los Alamos Optometrist

Imagine there is new law in the land. Everyone has to purchase an infant car seat. Already have one? Don’t have kids? Don’t have a car? Can’t afford it? Sorry, you can’t opt out of this one. The intent of the law was to provide a car seat for those who couldn’t afford it. Law advocates feared that a child might get missed, if car seats were made optional.

There was a “collective gasp” at the possibility of parents having the choice to “opt-out” of this life-saving device. The cost Read More

Letter to the Editor: Protest Against Slanted Reporting of Nuclear Weapons Issues

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Protest Against Slanted Reporting of Nuclear Weapons Issues
By PHILIP KUNSBERG
Los Alamos

This is a protest against the consistently slanted reporting of the Los Alamos Monitor on nuclear weapons issues. It appears that the Monitor takes pleasure in attacking the foundation of this town’s existence and deriding its proud history of supporting the nation’s defense. I am open to balanced criticism and, although I do not agree, I can respect intelligent advocacy of the abolition of nuclear weapons. However, I am disgusted by the extensive quoting of anti-nuclear ideologues who are treated Read More

Letter to the Editor: Climate Must Be Considered Over Profitability

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By KAREN ORTEGA
Los Alamos

President Obama’s leadership on capping carbon emissions is long overdue with the impending climate crisis. 

Special interest groups can no longer decide the fate of the environment we all share. New Mexico is already experiencing the effects of climate change. According to the U.S. Drought Monitor, more than 60 percent of New Mexicans live in conditions of exceptional drought. This drought is aggravated by increasing global temperatures and extended periods of time without precipitation.

We need to reduce dependence on fossil fuels, but natural gas is Read More