Letters: Readers discuss the Paris Climate Accord, business regulation and dating in Kansas City
Missing bees
Where are all the bees?
I live in the middle of the metropolitan area, and I have three-quarters of an acre of yard in Dutch white clover for the wildlife. So far this year, with the clover in full bloom, I have yet to see one bee.
Where have our main pollinators gone?
I know the bees are under attack, but I did not realize the situation was actually this bad. Soon it will be like an area in China where the pollination of pear trees must be done by hand, because the bee population no longer exists.
I like nature, and I have foxes, rabbits, squirrels, hoot owls, groundhogs, opossums, raccoons, three buck deer, four does and two fawns. I have planted wildflowers along a section of Antioch Road, and they are beginning to bloom — but no bees.
What are we doing, or what have we done already?
Skip Speer
Kansas City
Paris accord
We cannot allow President Donald Trump to have the last word on climate change. He pulled the United States from the Paris climate accord, but as citizens we must continue to speak out on curbing the use of fossil fuels and investing in renewable resources. (June 2, 1A, “Trump pulls U.S. out of global climate accord”)
Advocate for local policies that push for clean energy solutions. Vote for representatives who pledge support for environmental strategies to protect our community.
Write letters. Avoid companies that do not employ environmentally safe standards.
Support organizations such as Heifer International that train people in poverty-stricken areas to create environmentally safe and sustainable ways of making a living.
Support environmental organizations like the Sierra Club that work at both the local and national levels to educate and affect policy.
If the United States’ government will not join the world in creating policies that combat climate change, the people and companies of the United States can show that we disagree.
We can show our love for our children, grandchildren and future generations by working to care for our planet earth. Our actions are our hope.
Heather Sommer
Overland Park
If this were 1965, President Donald Trump would be attacking the people who sued the cigarette companies because those people wanted to protect all citizens from the health dangers of cigarette smoking.
Trump would have promised to bring back jobs in the tobacco industry. He would have yelled about the right to smoke cigarettes in elevators and buses and closed rooms.
Please speak out to protect us all from Trump’s ignorance and short-sightedness.
Sid Nau
Kansas City
A freer future
I disagree with Scott Canon’s May 28 Digital Life column, “Technology in a nanny state or an Ayn Rand wonderland.” (8A)
He wants to maintain the status quo because some people who don’t adapt will get hurt. He seems to suggest that government should control change to protect people and that technology will bypass those laws and regulations.
He has a magical view of business regulation. They are no more effective than a law against murder.
He misunderstands that social rules are far more effective than government regulations, and he definitely misunderstands that there are still rules. There is no anarchy.
He has a very negative view of people — they cannot adapt to new situations, and they are potential criminals.
He underestimates social media. There are many more ways to communicate than Yelp.
Myles Salmon
Shawnee
Finding a date
Kansas City is great for couples, married people and families, but this city is not so kind to single people.
When you are a certain age, the chances of meeting someone who is funny, is intelligent, has a decent job and lacks a frat boy mentality diminish significantly.
Where are the great hot spots for those who are 35 to 40 years old and want to meet someone nice? I am not talking about marriage right away, but as we get older the dating pool in Kansas City goes down significantly.
Other major cities have so many ways for all age groups to date, but Kansas City gets an F.
Any chances of that changing? Dating sites are horrible.
Jennifer M. Pantoja
Merriam
Think positive
My wife heard me grumbling about our Royals’ recent loss to the Indians and said cheerfully, “Yes, but it was just by one run.”
A true fan.
Gary Gall
Lee’s Summit
This story was originally published June 2, 2017 at 8:30 PM with the headline "Letters: Readers discuss the Paris Climate Accord, business regulation and dating in Kansas City."