Letters to the editor for Nov. 6
No airport in Thurston County
What were the qualifications/background of the people who decided East Olympia would be a good site for an airport?
What was the criteria they used in their decision making? Was it the wetlands, the verdant pastures and trees, the wildlife habitat, or the rural and suburban families that made this site a viable location for a mega-airport?
The Commercial Aviation Coordinating Commission (CACC) needs to go back to the drawing board. One possible option is the Port of Moses Lake airport. It boasts “plentiful greenfield with low population density, hanger space and five massive runways. ... The Port consistently enjoys excellent weather conditions with 340 days of VFR flying per year.”
This is a mega airport that is completed. Interstate 90 bisects Moses Lake. There is plenty of inexpensive land if they need to expand further. No verdant pastures, wetlands, or vast amounts of people will be uprooted or otherwise negatively impacted. Who knew there were 5 massive runways there? SeaTac only has three runways.
This mega airport can enrich Eastern Washington in tax revenue, spin off industry and business. It will provide a transportation hub for Eastern Washington and Idaho, and take some pressure off SeaTac.
Barbara Rice, Lacey
More research needed on feral cats
October 30’s front page of the Olympian was alarming. Olympia, Tumwater, Lacey, and Thurston County are embarking on a program to trap, neuter, and release (TNR) feral cats into the wild. They believe it to be more humane than euthanizing or captivity.
The idea is misguided and wrong in many ways. Research on TNR by the University of Florida shows that it is not humane, nor does it reduce feral populations as claimed.
Bird populations have declined 30% since 1970, whereas feral cat numbers have increased. According to research, cats are the number one killer of birds, averaging an estimate of 36 birds per cat per year for a total of 2.4 billion birds annually.
Is it really humane to release cats where they are subject to predation by coyotes and other predators, starvation, disease, death by car or other causes?
Decisions like this should not be made in a vacuum without input from Washington Fish and Wildlife, the Audubon Society, and other knowledgeable groups that consider the consequences on wildlife and the environment. Further study is needed.
John Green, Lacey
Ice rink contributes to climate change
For a city and state that loves to talk the talk regarding climate change, this ice rink in downtown Olympia is a case in point. Right under our governor’s nose the ice rink has set up again. This is the governor that ran for president by making climate change his central cause. I distinctly remember a front-page picture of the governor in Florida riding a jet boat while the accompanying article outlined all the bad things about climate change.
Climate change is real and it is going to get hotter and hotter. I’m not just spouting garbage I heard on CNN either. I was trained to be a scientist and understand how gasses and thermodynamics work.
Get the stupid ice rink out of here please. That thing is going to chug tons of diesel fuel just so some folks can play around on the ice. Go sailing or rowing, for God’s sake.
Randy Gray, Olympia