Letters: Lean on community for hope; Hotel prices are shameful

Lean on community for hope

I can only take so much of the doom-filled environmental news that seems to permeate our world today. Spend too much time reading or watching and the next thing I know I am sent down the spiral of not doing enough, not trying hard enough. Why should I have hope that things will get better?

While taking an environmental science class, I was offered an opportunity to look at climate change from the perspective of hope and possibility. But I still didn’t understand; Why be hopeful?

I don’t have anywhere else to go, the negativity is consuming. We are doomed, Earth is doomed. Why not listen to hope, despair doesn’t seem to be solving the problem.

Question your beliefs. Connect with nature. Support yourself and others. Do what you can. Take collective action.

The hope is sneaking in, but I still worry for the future. What if it’s all not enough?

Keep going, and push yourself more, even when it’s uncomfortable. Those feelings won’t go away, but your actions will show your true intent.

Lean on others; it may not feel like it, but they do understand. Build the community you’ve been looking for.

I know I will continue to worry, but through the support I feel, I now have hope.

For more information and to see the power of community support in action, come to our 3Dots workshop Sunday, April 28, from 2-5 p.m.! RSVP: tinyurl.com/ourstoriesclimate

Maggie Penner, State College

Hotel prices are shameful

“Greed robs us of our ability to appreciate the simple joys in life.”

Simply put, it’s shameful that a family has to spend thousands of dollars to celebrate the wonderful achievement of their child’s graduation from Penn State ... after already spending many thousands of dollars getting them through school.

I understand supply and demand principles, but I have a problem when hotels are charging three times as much for a given room, yet alone ten times the rate.

Come on! How dare you?

PJ Davidson, Centre Hall

Solution to ‘political chaos’

This year set a world record for the greatest number of people living in countries that are holding nationwide elections (more than 4 billion).

That’s more than half of humanity. Our own elections in 2018 and 2022 broke all the records for voter turnout.

But, we are starting to feel that voting in elections is no guarantee of democracy.

There seems to be no compromise. Presidential-candidate Trump tells us, “I alone can fix it.” He seems to intend to be President for life, if elected ... and then, no more elections? Can we rely on our political parties to help us sort through election chaos? Or are political parties the problem?

Our government began without any political parties. Our Constitution, intentionally, does not mention political parties. There was great concern that partisan loyalties could become stronger than institutional loyalties. But we have seen that a two-party political system can lead toward an area of “centrism,” where the two political parties can find some common ground that appeals to voters. The result is political stability and economic growth.

But, Trump plans no compromise. Instead, he plans to empower The Heritage Foundation, Project 2025 (climate deniers), The Heartland Institute, and his old pal, Steve Bannon, to reshape our government, and to make “retribution” the central theme of his campaign. This is not compromise, it’s dictatorship.

We need to convince the 40% of voters, who say they are independent, to learn as much as possible about our political chaos, to study the issues, and to vote.

Carl Evensen, State College

Thompson’s actions don’t support farmers

Representative Glenn Thompson (Pennsylvania District 15) claims that he is all about supporting Pennsylvania farmers. Who is he kidding?

According to the National Environmental Scorecard, Thompson’s overall score for 2023 was 3%, and lifetime score of 6%! He has worked to repeal actions on climate and environmental justice, to rollback clean water safeguards, and to undermine progress on conservation and climate.

This has huge consequences for Pennsylvania’s economy. Pennsylvania has 52,000 farms and 7.3 million acres of farmland, producing $83.8 billion in direct economic output. Climate change will dramatically reduce agricultural income by altering growing seasons for crops, increasing heat stress for livestock, and increasing flooding and storm water runoff, according to the Pennsylvania Climate Action Plan of 2018.

Too much rain can reduce crop yields as much as 40%. Lack of winter freezing leads to problems with soil and livestock. Increasing temperatures affect cows’ milk production and calving times, require lambs to be sheared more often, and increase hooved animals’ risk for parasites.

Adding to the damage, Thompson proudly supports “energy-related bills” that harm our land and water. He supported the repeal of the Greenhous Gas Reduction fund within the EPA, preventing “unelected bureaucrats from forcing their climate agenda on the American people.” Why does Thompson want to squash efforts of citizens who are toiling to protect our land and water – and preserve our farms and agricultural economy?

How exactly is Representative Thompson supporting our farmers? How exactly is he supporting Pennsylvanians?

Marie Hornbein, Spring Mills