Strive to help others
I have lived in Arkansas my entire life. We have had our share of ups and downs that I have seen in my short life, but I have observed that our community can do more to strive to help others. The world struggled when we were hit by the global pandemic, and we are now trying to go back to normal life. We are trying to pick up the pieces and build our community back. Some people cannot as easily get things back to the way they were. They need a little help.
I have been volunteering for the Borgen Project for some time now, and I have learned a lot from this organization. I have learned that global poverty in developing countries helps our own poverty situation more than we know. I have also learned that the U.S. can do so much more to give a little back to the underdogs. I'm from Conway and I have done little things around the city in order to give, but we have to ask ourselves: Is that enough? Can we support others on a bigger scale?
I urge my fellow Arkansans to donate and support the work that the Borgen Project is doing. Let's stand up and fight to downsize global poverty. We first help ourselves when we help others.
KIARA BRADFORD
Conway
Yes, it's really a thing
Last Friday's editorial missive "Unnatural gas/Is this really a thing?" snuggles into the cozy blanket of snark they commonly use. Yes, banning natural gas to newly constructed homes is "really a thing."
Why?
Natural gas, also known as methane, is a potent greenhouse gas. Methane is more potent than carbon dioxide, 25 times more potent over 100 years than carbon dioxide per the EPA. Production, transport and use of methane involve inevitable leaks in the system. More piping leads to more leaks. About 125,000 leaks are reported to fire departments per year. Buildings occasionally explode (4,200 per year) after leaking natural gas is found by an open flame.
Burning methane in a residence exposes the residents to toxic products of combustion. Surprisingly, unvented gas appliances are allowed in Arkansas but banned in many other states. When I asked the HVAC technician about this, he said he checked his unvented gas fireplace and found elevated levels of carbon monoxide. He doesn't use his anymore, and neither do I.
The "Others Say," from the Chicago Tribune, criticizes Illinois for taking 50 years to remove in-place lead piping in the water system. How long will it take to remove leaking methane pipes we know are dangerous? At what cost?
Why not meet the future now and ban the practice when easy and cheap substitutes are readily available? Electric heat, stoves, and water heaters are already cheap and effective. Plumbing a new subdivision with gas is a waste of developers' money and increases home prices. Banning the use of natural-gas appliances makes it easy to say no to uninformed customers.
MARK WEAVER
Fayetteville
An artificial history
In response to Richard Mason's column in the Perspective pages of this past Sunday's newspaper edition, I cannot help but compliment the eloquent way in which Mr. Mason described the tearing down of American history or, actually, the artificial reconstruction of it to suit certain groups, who by the way are the true racists who are purveyors of anti-truth "social change" mostly for personal gain.
History is the ultimate truth ... because it happened. For better or worse, in times of darkness and greatness, it is the only reference to what actually happened, not what some isolated "theorist" in a hypothetical bubble opines it should be.
As an "old f--t" of 65 years, history to me has been the true north of my educational compass. Case in point: 1. All air travel is based on GMT (if you don't know what this is, look it up), and agreed to by all countries worldwide despite extreme cultural differences. 2. The same world powers all agree on the day (24 hours), speed (miles/km per hour) and the day and date with agreed adjustment to keep everything in sync.
So, what's the insanity to take history and artificially "reset" it to cater to groups who don't agree with it? This is akin to having a small subset of the globe deciding the north and south poles be offset by, say, 13 degrees. Think of chaos? Think about this.
Thanks again to Mr. Mason. By the way, someone needs to give Star Parker a raise, and go ahead and give John Brummett a year off to absorb reality.
MIKE ZWEIFLER
Maumelle