Page 28 - Flathead Beacon // 1.13.16

LIKE I WAS SAYING 30 AMERICAN RURAL 30 DRAWING BOARD 31 Viewpoints
LETTERS
Facts Clear on Climate Change
In his recent piece in the Beacon, titled “Leave It In The Ground,” Dave Skinner shared some choice words about folks who accept the science on climate change. He described them as “hard-core believers,” as “climate changeists,” and – this one is my favor- ite – as “warmunist cult leaders.”
In case you were wondering, Dave combined the words “warm” and “com- munist” – isn’t that clever? – and then, obviously concerned that his target demographic might not get his point, he added “cult leaders” to make things a little clearer. That’s right. “Warmunist cult leaders.”
As a writer and a climate communi- cator, I’ve noticed that folks typically share their strongest arguments in pub- lic. Dave must have known that he didn’t have science, facts, or logic on his side, so he apparently decided to call people names instead.
Then again, who knows? Maybe I’m mistaken. Maybe Dave thought that the sheer linguistic brilliance of his “warmunist” salvo would overwhelm decades of scienti c research and make people forget about last summer’s record high temperatures, choking smoke, devastating drought, and explo- sive wild res.
Regardless, the facts are clear. Our fossil fuel emissions are heating the planet, endangering our economy, and putting our future at risk. By the way, that’s not just me talking. That’s our scienti c community, our economists, our religious leaders, the U.S. military, and our top corporations – including ExxonMobil. They all agree that cli- mate change is real, that it’s happening right now, and that it’s a major threat to America.
In fact, ExxonMobil says on its web- site that it’s working to – and I quote – “unlock integrated solutions to manage climate change risks. We have a robust set of processes, technologies, and best practices designed to improve e ciency and reduce emissions across our global operations.”
I’ll look forward to Dave raging against the “warmunist cult leaders” at ExxonMobil.
Todd Tanner Bigfork
Samaritan House Blessed by Generosity
There are many stories of sel ess individuals and altruistic businesses around the Flathead Valley generously giving time and money to those in need during this time of year. That being said there is one company in particular, Proof Research, that I would like to give a shout-out to.
Proof Research creates next genera- tion rearms and is located just north of Glacier Park International airport. Their products are amazing and I highly encourage you to check them out, but that is not the purpose of this letter. I am writing as I was able to witness one kind act after another that Proof Research performed for the Samaritan House during the holiday season.
The Samaritan House is a home- less shelter and transitional living pro- gram located in Kalispell. Annually the Samaritan House serves approximately 34,860 meals, and shelters 1,350 people, including nearly 200 families and 225 Veterans. What sets Samaritan House apart is their astonishing success rate in reinserting homeless into the com- munity. Eighty-six percent of those who leave the Samaritan House are no longer homeless as compared to a nationwide success rate of 72 percent.
During this holiday season, Proof Research participated in the annual Samaritan House ra e, which raised several thousand dollars to support Samaritan House’s mission. But Proof Research didn’t just give money. They also gave their time. One night a week for the rst three weeks of December, the Proof Research employees cooked and served meals to the residents of Samaritan House. As Christmas approached, Proof Research employ- ees again reached out and purchased Christmas presents for each and every child currently living at the shelter.
As if this wasn’t enough, Proof Research donated one of their preci- sion carbon ber hunting ri es valued at $6,000 to the Samaritan House to ra e o . Proof, Sportsman Ski Haus, Western Building Centers, Flathead Beacon and J. Martin Inc. all collaborated time and advertising to make this ra e happen with all proceeds going to the Samari- tan House.
Thank you Proof Research. Samar- itan House has been truly blessed by your generosity.
Gib Koch Bigfork
What Gun Grab?
Rep. Ryan Zinke calls President Obama’s executive action to close loop- holes in federal gun laws a “gun grab.”
I’d call it an e ort to keep people from grabbing guns who have no busi- ness owning them. And a modest e ort at that.
No one has lost his or her Second Amendment right to keep and bear arms (I’m pretty sure the Founding Fathers meant to add “responsibly” to that clause, but oh well). And no one is rounding up the ri es. Calm down, for Pete’s sake. The only ones bene ting from the fear-mongering are gun man- ufacturers, whose sales have more than doubled since 2009.
America – a country with the most guns per capita of any nation on Earth – also ranks at the top among our socio-economic peers for gun homi- cides (4.5 per 100,000 in 2013). Accord- ing to the Mass Shooting Tracker, which de nes a mass shooting as an incident in which at least four people are killed or wounded, there were 372 mass shoot- ings in the U.S. in 2015, which killed 475 and wounded 1,870. And that doesn’t count all the shootings by run-of-the- mill criminals and crazies: the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports 33,000 deaths and 80,000 hos- pitalizations per year from gunshots.
It also doesn’t include those mass shootings by lone gunmen that should be etched in our national psyche: Aurora. Columbine. Sandy Hook.
It’s true that guns don’t kill people any more than cars kill people. But, knowing that cars driven recklessly can kill people, we have the good sense to license drivers, and write laws govern- ing how we drive.
How is it, then, that we can’t even support the president’s feeble attempt to tighten loopholes in background checks, enforce laws on the books, boost gun- safety technology, and improve access to mental health?
Gun grab? What about the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness that died with those children at Sandy Hook, or the prayer group in Charles- ton? Or the 17 Montanans slain in 2015 by members of their own families (a new record, by the way)?
I suggest we quit grabbing our guns, and put our minds together on how to build a less violent nation.
Kristi Niemeyer Polson
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JANUARY 13, 2016 // FLATHEADBEACON.COM
LETTERS
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