Corporations must commit to less plastic: Readers sound off

Corporations must commit to less plastic

Letter to the editor:

Before, Guinness World Records were for things like how many hot dogs you could eat or how long you could balance a guitar on your forehead. Now, we’re living at a time of world records — but for ocean cleanups — a reality depicted in Joshua Bote’s June 17 article, “633 divers break world record for largest underwater trash cleanup.”

Plastic lasts for decades, in some cases, even centuries. People are rightfully concerned about the plastics crisis, evidenced by the 17.6 billion pounds of plastic entering the ocean every year, according to a study published in the journal Science.

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While individual contributions are inspiring, cleanups and waste-management efforts will never do enough to counter ocean pollution. The records we need can only be set by companies, the ones increasingly using plastic to make products designed to be thrown away.

Let’s see corporations set records for fewest plastic-packaged products among a leading brand, or largest reduction in plastic production in a year. Until they dramatically reduce their reliance on this everlasting pollutant, there will always be trash for us to clean up. It’s time companies offered plastic-free products, so we can all find other ways to contribute, rather than endlessly cleaning up this corporate-driven mess.

Melissa Valliant; senior manager of communications, Oceana; Washington, D.C.

Biden is a Democrat of ‘yesterday’

Letter to the editor:

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, a former U.S. senator, is under fire for comments made to donors about past dealings with segregationist former senators, saying, “At least there was some civility. We got things done.”

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In theory, former Vice President Joe Biden is correct. Not much legislation passes without help from the opposition. However, the problem with his comment is it appears to substantiate what many younger, more progressive Democrats are alluding to, if not outright saying: Biden is yesterday.

His comment suggests that the good ol’ days were when you could work with your colleague who might be a racist.

Biden is like the lovely relative at family reunions, the one who is good for a laugh, a folksy story, and a few off-color jokes. But you don’t ask him or her to run the event — or the “party.”

Larry D. Fowler; Plainfield, N.J.

How to respond to Iran’s provocations

Letter to the editor: 

The speculated attack by Iran last week on a tanker in the Gulf of Oman is reminiscent of the Gulf of Tonkin incidents in 1964. As a scholar of communication, I want to call attention to how events like this can become an excuse to wage an unwanted and unjustified war. Through rhetoric, President Lyndon B. Johnson created a crisis surrounding the 1964 incident, persuading Congress to pass a unilateral resolution sending troops to Vietnam.

The alleged attacks were used as a pretext to enact Johnson’s previously arrived at private decision to intervene in Vietnam. Notably, LBJ’s Tonkin Gulf speeches were drawn largely from a memo drafted by Walt Rostow, who was, at the time, the chairman of the State Department’s Policy Planning Council. Rostow drafted the memo before the attacks, arming LBJ with ammunition to rally Americans behind sending troops into a protracted and costly war thousands of miles away. It simultaneously reconciled LBJ’s private decision to intervene with his prior public, antiwar rhetoric.

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What happened in Tonkin Gulf 55  years ago should give us pause today. We must wonder how President Donald Trump, an unpredictable and arguably dangerous commander-in-chief, will respond to Iran regarding what transpired in the Gulf of Oman— especially given his and Secretary of State Pompeo’s harsh statements about and threatening tone taken with Iran.

Richard Cherwitz, Professor at the University of Texas; Austin, Texas

Letter to the editor: 

According to the U.S. government, Iran carried out attacks against tankers transporting oil to American allies in the Gulf of Oman. In doing so, Iran has raised the stakes in its confrontation with the United States. One thing is clear: If we do not respond to the hostile actions by Iran, they will increase in number and intensity.

What should be the answer to Iran’s flagrant actions, which Kuwait’s ambassador to the United Nations, Mansour Al-Otaibi, said contradict international law and are criminal?

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First, Iran should be issued a warning to not repeat such outrages. Second, it’s important to immediately declare that the Gulf of Oman and the Strait of Hormuz are out of bounds for Iran. Therefore, any Iranian ship found there should be destroyed.

Iran has gone too far and will go further if there is no response. Trump understands substantial retaliation is needed, but will the American public allow sanctions of Iran?

Nelson Marans; New York City

Baggage fees cover hidden labor costs 

Letter to the editor: 

As a professional in the airline industry, I would like to respond to your June 18 article “Airlines have made $1.3 billion off bag fees so far this year, data shows.”

Much has been written about airlines charging for checked bags, but little is ever written about why. Just as there is a cost to transporting passengers, there is a cost to transporting their luggage, too.

Simply saying that airlines are “raking in” baggage fees fails to take into account the infrastructure necessary to process and transport checked baggage. According to a study conducted by Airlines for America, labor makes up two-thirds of airlines’ total costs to transport checked bags — specifically the employees who handle bags at the ticket counter and the ramp. Airlines lease space at the airport to handle checked baggage, and there is the cost of ground equipment and baggage carousels.

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The cost of transporting a checked bag used to be included in the total ticket price, but now it’s billed separately by most airlines. This allows passengers who don’t want to check a bag to pay less for their flight.

Speaking of paying less, passengers are paying less than ever before for their airline tickets. Inflation-adjusted air fares declined for a fourth consecutive year in 2018, hitting the lowest level since the Bureau of Transportation Statistics began keeping track in 1995. Even when ancillary fees are included, the price of air travel is lower than ever.

John Heimlich, Vice president and chief economist, Airlines for America; Washington, D.C.

Hold lawbreakers accountable

Letter to the editor: 

I’m a Republican, or was once a Republican. I am a veteran who took an oath to the Constitution, not to a party nor to a person. I agree with Michael Stern’s column, “‘I think I’d take it’ is the last straw. Nancy Pelosi, it’s time to impeach Trump.” I’ve never liked President Donald Trump, but it’s too late to impeach. While I want Trump and his sycophants held accountable, I won’t hold my breath. Here’s why.

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After the 2008 elections, Democrats didn’t fully investigate former President George W. Bush nor the Iraq War, a war I was against long before it became fashionable to be so.

Here we are again. Lightning strikes twice. Many of us want lawbreakers to be held accountable, regardless of race, sex, religion or party. The Republican Party and Trump say they are the law-and-order party. I guess that only holds when the Democrats commit crimes.

Bill Tratnack; Scottsdale, Ariz.

Trump administration comings and goings

Letter to the editor: 

I’d like to thank White House spokeswoman Sarah Huckabee Sanders for service to the administration and America. She’s a patriot, working tirelessly to deliver on President Donald Trump’s America-first agenda.

Paul Bacon; Hallandale Beach, Fla.

Letter to the editor: 

Sanders is leaving with lost credibility. Senior aide Kellyanne Conway, whom the Office of Special Counsel has recommended be removed from office after repeatedly violating a federal law that prohibits political speech in her official capacity, will also likely leave soon. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao — who’s accused of preferential treatment on projects linked to her husband, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell — should write a resignation letter just in case.

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George Magakis Jr.; Norristown, Pa.

Trump launches 2020 presidential bid 

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Our readers on Facebook: 

It’s terrible that Trump campaigns rather than doing his job. There should be a law that prohibits elected officials from campaigning until a few months before an election.

If the candidates did well in office, they wouldn’t have to persuade people to vote for them.

— Bryan Oakley

I wonder why people still criticize Trump’s 2016 campaign. Will Democrats learn how he previously won to prevent a future repeat?

— Ric Eto

There is still time for Republicans to field another candidate.

— Scott Hardy

Three reasons Trump will win: the economy, the economy and the economy!

— Gil Fidler

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