dredge it
Re “Ghosts on Chesapeake Bay: What Can Be Done to Bring Dead Forests Back to Life?” (November 26): Reports and studies consistently show that sinking and rising sea levels are causing all the problems we are experiencing, but the only solution that has been devised is to put barriers in specific threatened locations . It is fine for these places, but the water will affect the downstream areas.
I have traveled the Chesapeake Bay estuary for years. Drive along the many roads of the “wharf” where there was once trade with marshes, and all there is is mud with rotten balls. This is the result of decades of material blowing or washing into the water and gradually disintegrating making the area unusable. At the same time, it decreases the areas where water can travel by impacting lower-lying areas of the bay with more frequent flooding.
After Hurricane Isabel, I went to a wetlands board meeting where representatives from various local or government agencies were explaining the complications of dealing with flooding. I asked if they considered dredging as a solution and was told it wouldn’t make a difference. So I asked, if you had a full gallon bucket and you put a big rock in the water, could you still put a gallon of water back into it? They told me they didn’t understand the problem.
Some time ago there was a persistent problem with flooding in part of the Elizabeth Lakes in Hampton. Hampton, after a landowner protested the dredging, finally got permission to dredge the area, and I haven’t heard of any flooding since. Localities send out weed-eating teams annually to cut back the growth in the tidal ditches and leave the debris; then every few years they are with a backhoe that digs out the ditch.
If we dredged these areas up to the levels of 100 years ago, I think that would solve the problem.
Jeff Allen, Hampton
Antidote to hate
Regarding “The Evolution of Gratitude” (November 23): If only we could include more of the kind of gratitude mentioned in the article: returning the favor and thanking people, along with some empathy and patience in our daily lives, we might find our way out of these difficult times where anger and hatred have become the drug of choice for many in this country.
As embodied by the narcissistic charlatan who would have us all join him in the high school playground, anger now replaces real discussions about real issues. I understand part of the appeal because a scam will. Unfortunately, I understand other parts of the appeal as well, but hopefully something atypical will always remain in our national psyche. But the vast majority of acceptance of this behavior comes from people who know better, are better, and should do better.
What is the cure for this disease? Regardless of your political affiliation, turn off the talking heads and take the time to talk to others. Listen to nature instead of another podcast. Apply as much critical thinking to our own beliefs as we do to the beliefs of others. Take the time to appreciate what you have and what you can give to others. I have to believe that if we are put here for anything, it is to love each other and leave the world a better place for being here. Living our lives in anger accomplishes none of that.
Dale Timmer, Newport News
America’s problem
Re “Be careful” (Your Opinions, Nov. 26): Mike Niehaus ends with, “I think the Democrats today are the worst politicians there is in America, and I am convinced they hate America.”
Whether or not Democratic politicians are the “worst” is for someone more able to argue, but the belief that their political opponents hate America is the general problem with American politics today. I find it too hard to consider that all Republican politicians hate America, despite the lack of integrity that too many have demonstrated. From the moment former President Donald Trump stepped on the debate stage in 2016, it seemed obvious that he had no idea what it took to be president. But I never thought he hates or wants to destroy America. He has shown that he can do it, and even more so with his statements about “downs” and “thugs”. But despite the abuse his ego is taking, it’s his ego that makes him think he’s the savior of America.
As long as those who disagree with us are deemed hateful and unreflective, we will continue to have “business as usual” politics.
Mannie Smith, Norfolk
abortion
Re “Priorities” (Your Opinions, Nov. 21): The writer tried to expose conservatives for the hypocrisy of wanting to limit abortions while allowing young people to be killed by AR-15s.
Comparing nearly unlimited access to abortion to highly regulated gun ownership is like comparing the Holocaust to a bus crash using numbers.
The majority of firearm deaths of children under 19 are suicides, accidents and homicides. The vast majority of them are committed with guns. Maybe liberals could ease their pain by calling them postnatal abortions.
AS Kenley, Hampton
