Arguments against electric cars sound familiar
To the editor:
Charles Lane’s central argument against the electric car (Sunday commentary), that it’s not a viable replacement for gas-powered cars, is a solid loser.
It’s the same argument used against the gasoline car more than a century ago, when they first appeared on the scene. Horses were better! They didn’t need specialized fuel; animals could just stop and graze almost anywhere. Gas stations were few and far between back then, and you could never be sure where they were or whether they’d be open, to speak nothing of the mostly unusable roads that horses could get over but cars couldn’t. The range of the gas-powered Ford Model T was 20 to 40 miles before refueling.
Only when the government stepped in with regulations and massive subsidies (which we still depend upon today) did the gas-powered car become what it is today. Mr. Lane dismisses the plug-in hybrids that Chevy, Ford, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Volvo and Fisker-Karma are building, even though plug-in hybrids can go anywhere gas-powered cars can go because they can also use gas, if needed.
It’s a small step to extend our electrical grid to include recharging stations everywhere. The electric car and the plug-ins are here to stay, and according to Mr. Lane, 71,000 were sold last year alone.
Mr. Lane is so stuck solidly in the turn of the previous century with his thinking, I’m surprised he didn’t use phrases like “new-fangled whatchamacallit” and criticize seat belts as un-ladylike. In five years, when a large portion of new car sales will be hybrid or electric, few of his readers will remember that he thought the electric car would never catch on, and he will still be writing columns pooh-poohing technology.
Technology may advance, but ignorance remains the same.
DAVID KLAMANN
LAS VEGAS
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Wants a bigger bin
To the editor:
In response to the coverage of Republic Services moving from twice-weekly trash pickup to once-weekly trash and recycling pickup:
If increased recycling and reduced employee injuries are Republic Services’ objectives, all Republic has to do is replace the ridiculous red, white and blue recycling bins with decent-size receptacles that can be picked up by trucks with retractable arms. I would recycle more if I had a single large receptacle that I could wheel, as opposed to pushing the crate-style bins with my feet. My recycling is limited because of the inconvenience of multiple bins, which can get too heavy to lift to the curb. It has nothing to do with the frequency of pickup.
In a world where nothing seems to be easy anymore, politicians need to have their say, and the consumer always seems to finish last, this seems like it should be a quick fix. There would be increased recycling, fewer employee injuries, less reduction in work hours, and regular trash pickup.
Another study, anyone?
PAM CHERNEY
LAS VEGAS
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Mortgage help
To the editor:
My congressman, Republican Rep. Joe Heck, is right on the money. Rep. Heck has advocated federal help to bring down monthly mortgage costs, but he has not supported spending money on aggressive principal reduction. Rep. Steven Horsford, D-Nev., has advocated principal reduction, which I am against.
My wife and I met with Rep. Heck and his staff, requesting information and cooperation from our lender to simply respond to our request to refinance our mortgage. The effort put forth by the congressional office prompted a response from our lender, and we proceeded to secure a fixed-rate mortgage on our home. Many properties are underwater, but the avenue we took was not to walk from our agreement to pay the principal. We just wanted to refinance our adjustable rate, which had much higher payments than a fixed-rate mortgage. The discussion of principal reduction never entered the picture and was not even a consideration.
Rep. Horsford’s attempt to get principal reductions for residents of Clark County who are underwater is wrong. My question for Rep. Horsford: What would have happened if our home had doubled or tripled in value? Would he then ask all homeowners to give the 50 percent gain back to the bank?
ROBERT SULLIMAN
NORTH LAS VEGAS
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What about 9/11?
To the editor:
Why is the tragedy of Benghazi being brought up again and again?
Where was George W. Bush’s security team when they were told that Arabs were taking flying lessons in the United States? The jets they learned to fly killed 3,000 people, most likely due to a lack of communication amongst the various security agencies. Is that still the case today?
ADELE VANDEHOUTEN
HENDERSON
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Too lenient
To the editor:
Recently, District Judge Valerie Adair sentenced a man to only three months in jail for causing the death of another man he punched at a Strip casino in 2011 (“Florida teacher sentenced to 90 days jail, five years’ probation in death of Utah man,” Friday Review-Journal). Prosecutors were seeking 19 to 48 months.
At about the same time in Arizona, former Arizona Diamondbacks broadcaster and player Mark Grace began serving four months in jail for a DUI conviction. Too bad Mr. Grace didn’t appear before the compassionate Judge Adair. In lieu of punishment, she may have asked only that Mr. Grace autograph a baseball for her.
ROBERT KNIGHT
LAS VEGAS
