Running of the bulls
nothing compared to I-49
Once again, the Running of the Bulls in Pamplona has brought daredevils from around the world to challenge fate and enraged bulls in a quest to face death head-on. Besides the notoriety bestowed upon Pamplona, there are all those tourist dollars to be counted.
Here in Northwest Arkansas, our own elected officials and advertising commissions continue to overlook our own chance for an even more dangerous and exciting challenge: The Running of the Fools, or as the locals call it, driving on I-49.
Pamplona has had only 10 fatalities in over 100 years of bull runs, and only 4-10 runners are gored per year. We offer life-threatening injuries every single day out there! And just to make sure that nobody is safe, the construction companies line the lanes with concrete barriers that feature sudden shifts to the left and right with absolutely no shoulder to veer off onto.
That isn’t to say that we don’t have any shoulder on I-49. Between Bentonville and south Rogers we’ve had a shoulder completed for several years that’s actually wider than the two traffic lanes it services. This will come in handy during our own run as there is plenty of room to set up food trucks and carnival rides in this space for people to enjoy while traffic is backed up for seven miles while the latest wreck is being cleaned up.
The Running of the Bulls is for sissies who can’t handle the real danger of I-49. Let’s get our marketing people on it and bring their tourism dollars over here.
TROY JUZELER
Bentonville
‘American spirit’ should
lead to carbon reductions
Thank you for publishing Art Hobson’s July 18 piece “The USA is in trouble,” which exposes the United States’ societal ailments, policy shortcomings and collective poverty compared to international standards.
I agree with Dr. Hobson that challenges abound. Despair and cynicism are easy; lengthening Dr. Hobson’s list of common ills even easier, with the most obvious addition being addiction to fossil fuels and federal reluctance to lead this nation into a healthier energy economy and an environmentally sustainable future.
Dr. Hobson suggests learning from the temperament and policies of achieving western nations. I don’t dispute this, but I also believe these times call us to remember who we are. Our cup, as Dr. Hobson notes, is indeed half full. Innovation, leadership, generosity, reason, adaptability, investment, responsibility and conservation inform the American spirit.
Concerning climate change, that spirit is already hard at work. For example, here in Arkansas forward thinking, methane-reducing, rice farmers recently sold their first carbon credits to Microsoft on California’s carbon market. Additionally, L’Oreal’s 3,528 solar panel array is now online in North Little Rock.
National carbon pricing can further catalyze the best of America, empowering businesses, consumers, innovators and investors to transition us from dirty fuels to clean. Research shows that well-structured national carbon fee and dividend policy would, over 20 years, reduce carbon emissions 50 percent below 1990 levels, create 2.8 million additional jobs above baseline, protect middle- and working-class families, and prevent 230,000 premature deaths. That’s more than a cup half full.
JAN SCHAPER
Eureka Springs