8/24 Letters: ‘Ghost forests’ show need for climate protection

I enjoyed reading “Climate change before your eyes: Seas rise and trees die” (Aug. 1) on ghost forests. It was refreshing to see an informational article that connected present, tangible concerns with larger issues. Climate change was the culprit, but only by proxy. The real culprit is humans. For too long we have supported policies that harm the environment; ghost forests are only the beginning. Recently, President Trump proposed huge budgets cuts, and the Environment Protection Agency was not spared.

As a lifelong Girl Scout and native North Carolinian, I cannot sit back and watch as my world begins to waste away. Girl Scouts learn they should make the world a better place, and I believe everyone can help make that happen. One way to do that is to lobby, to tell members of Congress how we feel about policies they vote on that affect us. I implore readers to ask Sens. Richard Burr and Thom Tillis to take action and protect the North Carolina coast by supporting the Environmental Protection Agency’s climate, air, and energy research, refusing the major cuts proposed by President Trump.

Let schools handle history

Regarding “Southern states – and Trump – resist calls to remove Confederate memorials” (Aug. 16): If looking at monuments to Confederate generals is the only way people can learn about the past and the hateful history of the South, there is a very serious problem with the education system in U.S. schools. Don’t schools teach American history, including the Civil War?

America won the Revolutionary war against the British and no one waves the British flag, so why is the Confederate flag such a symbol to so many Americans? The South went to war against America. The Confederate flag is a symbol of treason.

Help teachers

Regarding “Here’s how you can help teachers, students get needed school supplies” (Aug. 21): I hope everyone will heed the advice in this article and do what they can to help teachers and students get needed school supplies. But as they do that, I hope they will also write to their state legislators and local school board members to decry the fact that state and local governments are making it necessary for teachers to spend on average $500 of their own money on school supplies each year. What a disgrace.

My mother taught high school English for over 30 years, retiring in the early 1970s. She rarely, if ever, had to spend any of her salary on classroom supplies. How is it that we’ve gone backwards instead of forwards on this issue since then? Politicians must be reminded they can’t just talk about how much they value education; they need to support it both at the state and local levels. Political leaders must be held accountable if such articles as this continue to be needed each year.

This story was originally published August 23, 2017 at 6:00 PM with the headline "8/24 Letters: ‘Ghost forests’ show need for climate protection."