LETTERS

Plan for the pipeline

One year after the rupture of the Pegasus pipeline in Mayflower, I still do not know what our politicians plan.

I see plenty of ads on TV. They talk about all sorts of issues. What about the Pegasus pipeline? Who says it must be rebuilt? Who says a 65-year old pipeline has no place near Lake Maumelle? Who says they will use every means legal to protect our water and environment?

These people disappoint me greatly. Why do they not talk about the pipeline in their vast number of ads? What is our beloved leaders’ plan to protect our resources? How can they not speak of this issue? I can blissfully say I have not seen every ad. How do we not have any idea what their goals on this are?

I say condemn the pipeline and replace it with modern pipe and the technology of today’s safety measures. A rupture can be shut off a lot quicker today than in 1947. Earthquakes, accidents and all kinds of bad things can happen. I pray not, but let’s elect leaders with a plan-a modern plan.

JEFF LAHA Little Rock

Self-examination tool

It would appear that there are two kinds of Christians today. There are those who use the Bible as an instruction book to help them live their lives in keeping with their desire to follow Jesus. They see themselves in need of guidance, trying to live as they feel Jesus would want them to live, loving and caring for those around them in a manner keeping with the gospel.

Then there appear to be those Christians who choose to use the Bible as a weapon to beat up those who they think are sinful and evil by selectively choosing scriptures that they feel support this stance they are taking. No wonder there are so many folks today who choose not to call themselves Christian when they see Christians acting in such a terrible manner.

I really believe that if you are a Christian who sees yourself as God’s little helper, condemning others who are different or seen by you as sinful, and yet you want to be sure you follow Jesus and act in a manner in keeping with what he said he wanted from his disciples, you should read all the “woe to you” in Matthew and apply it to yourself as Jesus speaking to you about your Christian behavior.

If that doesn’t turn you around and help you become more loving and caring, then you are hopelessly doomed to the life of hate you have chosen. It had a powerful impact on me in my life and I pass it on as a useful tool for self-examination.

Shalom.

FRANK M. YOUNG Bella Vista

Encourages smoking

The March 9th Doonesbury appears to me that it’s saying children should start smoking. I disagree; no one should smoke, especially under the age of 18. This comic is encouraging children to smoke once again.

I think this comic is wrong. Yes, in the comic it shows that the boy is turning 18, but he says it’s for kids and he should have started at an earlier age! The same thing goes with drugs and alcohol, but at age 21.

So, please talk to the writer of Doonesbury and tell him I disagree with him, and this comic is inappropriate for children.

LAWLER CARPENTER Little Rock

Meeting was a farce

My best friend and fellow Hendrix alum, Cathy Jones, recounted her experience at Tuesday’s press conference in Mayflower City Hall, hastily announced as an update to the continuing “clean-up” of Exxon Mobil’s Pegasus pipeline rupture of a year ago, as quite simply a farce. A cynical farce.

Just as with the recently announced meeting this coming Monday at the Clinton School for Public Service (4 p.m.), Tuesday’s so-called public event was also scheduled during workday hours, when mothers and fathers are picking up children from school and/ or clocked in at their jobs. The perfect time for the bread-and-circuses event known locally for decades as a dog and pony show.

This cynical model of public discourse damages the Natural State by undermining participatory solutions to community-wide crises. Key stakeholders-property owners and generations of families-are all currently excluded from any process that includes restarting the failed 65-year old pipeline. Never mind the state’s “bad actor clause,” which, if enforced,could strip permits from Exxon, derailing the pipeline’s proposed restart.

The current process should also feature a public health component, yet inexplicably does not. Another question for the cynics in charge, perhaps?

Exxon’s meeting in Mayflower displayed nothing less and nothing more than the company line. Exxon Mobil’s spokesperson didn’t divulge any information regarding a report due by April 7. So that exercise in futility informs Monday’s 4 p.m. much-heralded gathering/dog-and-pony show at the Clinton School for Public Service. FYI: Monday afternoon, I will be running my fourth-grader’s carpool.

DENISE WHITE PARKINSON Hot Springs

Promote clean energy

One year ago today, the Pegasus pipeline broke near Mayflower, forcing residents from their homes and putting our Lake Maumelle water supply at risk. Just this week another big spill occurred in the Gulf of Mexico, near areas still suffering from the Exxon Deepwater Horizon explosion.

Neighbors on the Fayetteville Shale have seen property values, daily happiness, and home foundations negatively affected by natural gas extraction, even without a major accident.

Fossil fuels come at great risk, and I believe they are not necessary. We can create jobs and sustainable prosperity through clean-energy production while preserving the great beauties and joys of this wonderful state.

Negotiations are taking place now to permit a new east-west Diamond Pipeline Project to transport oil and gas from Oklahoma to Memphis through three of Arkansas’ pristine wildlife management areas. When we welcome such “job creators,” we forget that we are risking the security of our air, land and water quality. Arkansas could become a place where people no longer want to come to vacation, retire, or plant new businesses and industries.

We must influence our elected officials to support clean-energy production. Contact your legislators. Get tips from Arkansas Citizen Advocates of Natural Resources Defense Council at [email protected] or (501) 734-8113.

BARBARA JARVIS Little Rock