Letters to the editor: Issue of April 28, 2016

Eating sustainably

With the 47th annual observance of Earth Day held last week, this is a great time to explore more effective ways of slowing climate change and conserving Earth’s natural resources for future generations.

A 2010 United Nations report charged animal agriculture with 19 percent of man-made greenhouse gases — more than all transport — and recommended a global shift to a vegan diet. A subsequent World Watch study placed that contribution closer to 50 percent. Meat and dairy production also dumps more water pollutants than all other human activities combined. It is the driving force in global deforestation and wildlife habitat destruction.

Last fall, England’s prestigious Chatham House declared that reducing meat consumption is critical to achieving global climate goals.

A report from Oxford University found that global adoption of a vegan diet would reduce greenhouse emissions by two-thirds.

The 2015 U.S. Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee has recommended reduced meat consumption and an environmentally sustainable diet.

Just as we replace fossil fuels by sustainable energy sources such as wind and solar, we must replace animal foods with the more sustainable vegetables, fruits, and grains. Being mindful of this can help us make better choices at the supermarket.

Sheldon Daniels

San Diego

Live within means

Only in Poway does a $20 million surplus trigger a $10 million bond issue. The council should learn to live within its budget, as we all have to.

This nonsense has to stop! We’ve already got our haircut on bond issues. While the financial instruments used and the taxing authority are not the same, the final proposal still involves borrowing more money.

Mark Barry

Poway

Kudos to Lyle

Kudos to Dick Lyle’s continuing efforts to call out progressive post modernist and relativistic political thought for its intolerant views and disregard for Constitutional law.

Besides intolerance, another characteristic of a whining progressive is that when you have no logical or factual position on an issue, start throwing out words like: racist, bigot, hater, rightwing extremist, gun nut, sexist, micro-aggressor and using the ever popular suffix “-phobic,” thereby thinking that the discussion is over. Well folks, the discussion is not over.

Progressive politics revolve around the concept of emotional mob activism and of what “feels right today,” not the rule of law.

Mel Schmitz, DDS

Poway