Aug. 26 Letters to the Editor

Spreading false data

In response to Sunday's letter "Vaccines not safe" by Fritz Kettenburg: Mr. Kettenberg, I know where you got the information in your letter. It came from anti-vaccine websites that use false information to scare people about the safety of vaccines.

True, the first developed polio vaccine did contain a non-attenuated virus that caused a small percentage of children to contract polio (1960s), but that vaccine was quickly replaced with another that was much more effective and safe to administer. Today the polio virus has been eliminated because of these vaccines. ...

The study you quote suggesting SV-40 exists in human cancerous tumors has never been successfully repeated, and probably resulted from cross-contamination of the researchers with viral sequences in their own lab.

It has, however, been proven the presence of SV-40 in the human population is probably because of zoo workers who work with primates, and has nothing to do with the polio vaccine. It has been further shown that SV-40 has not become pervasively established in the human population, that it is not transferred by human-to-human contact and that people who do have cancer do not have a distinguishable titer to SV-40 (they do not have replicating virus).

It's interesting you believe that vaccines will harm our society. As a scientist, I can say your rhetoric poses an "actual" threat to humans. When parents refuse to vaccinate their children, they put us all at risk for infection and disease from viruses that have been resolved by science. ...

Jennifer Eldridge

Clarkston

No time to waste

I commend President Barack Obama for taking historic action on climate change with the Clean Power Plan.

However, it is not enough.

Most unfortunately, climate change has become wrapped up in political party ideology, making effective implementation of the Clean Power Plan very difficult and contentious. Opponents already threaten to sue and are even encouraging states not to comply with the new rules.

We need a simple, fast and effective solution that both parties can get behind. The Citizens' Climate Lobby, including an active chapter on the Palouse, is advocating revenue-neutral carbon fee and dividend legislation that seems to meet these criteria.

This plan places a steadily rising fee on the carbon content of fossil fuels to be paid by coal, oil and gas companies. One hundred percent of the proceeds from this carbon fee are distributed equally back to every American.

The carbon fee will raise the price of carbon-based fuels and products. Thus, households will naturally choose to spend their dividend checks on cheaper, greener energy sources and products.

A carbon fee and dividend would reduce carbon emissions by 50 percent below 1990 levels during the next 20 years plus add 2.8 million jobs to the economy (study by Regional Economic Models, Inc.).

Endless arguing between Republicans and Democrats has pushed us beyond the 11th hour for climate change. There is no more time to waste. Let's mobilize to create the political will for a livable world.

Katie Gieske

Lewiston

No escape

The real purpose for the wall that Donald Trump proposes to build separating the U.S. from Mexico is not, as he says, to keep out immigrants, but rather to keep most of us from heading south should he be elected.

Jim Bradford

Lewiston