Letters question Endangered Species Act logic, campaign for Syd Locke and oppose toy gun sales
Fix the Endangered Species Act
The federal government’s plan to kill thousands of barred owls to try and save spotted owls perfectly displays a flaw in the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The ESA requires that all plants and animals that existed in 1973 when it became law must never be allowed to go extinct. It essentially demands we stop time.
Science says species and habitats evolve over time. When things change, species that needed the pre-change conditions don’t always survive. That’s how things go. Probably 99% of all the species that ever existed on Earth are extinct.
Trying to freeze this process at a single point in time is ludicrous. Which is why ludicrous things can sometimes happen when the ESA is strictly enforced. Shooting barred owls is technically required by the ESA because it does not allow for any extinction, even when it involves two species where one is clearly outcompeting the other.
The reason barred owls are supposedly bad is because they are better than spotted owls at surviving. If left alone, barred owls will simply replace spotted owls within the ecosystem, and everything will work just fine. The invasion of barred owls should be viewed as a natural process, not some insidious plague of evil.
Also consider how many mostly federal workers will lose their jobs if spotted owls become extinct. And then how many of these people helped make the decision that thousands of barred owls need to be killed to save spotted owls from extinction (and themselves from unemployment)?
Steve Shanewise, Olympia
Syd Locke for State Senate
As we face another election year, the dread and fatigue are palpable. Whether a voter on the right, left or center, people feel like their choices are limited, redundant and a forgone conclusion.
But into the mix the citizens of state Legislative District 22 have a new candidate to represent them for the Washington state Senate. Syd Locke is experienced, ready to go and unbought. With 30 years experience working as a senior legislative assistant, he knows the ins and outs of moving policy forward. He has seen what special interest and corporate money have done to our great state, which is why he takes no corporate donations. That means no big real estate, no pharmaceutical money, nothing!
What Syd is interested in is policies that advocate for the working class: instituting a robust state Medicare for All model as proposed by Whole WA; overturning the state ban on rent control; overturning the state’s regressive tax system; and advocating fiercely for Washington to be a leader in calling for a ceasefire in Gaza.
To learn more about Syd Locke’s vision for Washington state, visit www.SydLocke.com, and join the movement that brings dignity to all people.
Elizabeth Ann Baldo, Olympia
Toys guns are not fun
I was shopping at the Haggen store on Cooper Point Road recently and found that they were selling toy guns. I was shocked to see that after all the efforts we have made to keep kids safe from guns. This is not how we want to raise our children.
Guns are not toys. Real guns kill kids. We have strict laws in our state (finally) on the purchase of real guns. Probably every one of us has been touched by the death of a child by a firearm.
According to the search results, firearms have become the leading cause of death for children and teens (ages 1-19) in the United States. Here are some key statistics:
• In 2021, there were 2,571 child deaths due to firearms, a rate of 3.7 deaths per 100,000 children. This represents a 68% increase in the number of deaths since 2000 and a 107% increase since 2013.
• In 2020 and 2021, firearms contributed to more deaths of children ages 1-17 than any other type of injury or illness, surpassing motor vehicle accidents.
• In 2021, firearms were involved in 4,733 child and teen deaths (ages 1-19) in the United States.
• Research estimates that every year, 19,000 children and teens are shot and killed or wounded in the U.S.
I hope you will join me in a campaign to stop Haggen from selling toy guns in their Olympia area stores.
Edie Harding, Olympia
