Sportsmanship
Dear Editor: As I write this, we are getting ready to go to the senior night game for the Sitka High basketball. I have to admit for the last few years it has not been a pleasure to attend basketball games, but now I am actually looking forward to going. The amount of disrespect shown on the court by team members and coaches made watching the game a matter of duty, not enjoyment.
This season it has been a real joy to see the team play hard. But, win or lose, there has not been any disrespect for the referees, coaches or other players. WOW, HOW NICE (with the exception of one visiting coach.) They played hard and did not always win, but there was at least respect on the floor and on the bench. GOOD JOB, SITKA HIGH.
We are proud of you and of your good sportsman’s attitude. Having respect for your fellow human beings will take you much farther in life than always proving you are right or making the most points.
Home from the game and once again they played hard and made us proud. Keep up the good work and may God bless you all.
Marjorie Parmelee, Sitka
Climate Change
Dear Editor: I’m a Christian conservationist who cares deeply about stewarding God’s creation with the utmost care as we were directed to in the creation stories found in Genesis. As Katharine Hayhoe, professor at Texas Tech University in atmospheric and political science and a Christian, points out, climate change in many ways is an issue of communication not science. In her recent Catholic Climate Covenant webinar, she discussed how our extreme political polarization and where we fall on that spectrum is often what predicts whether we dismiss climate change on one end or are incredibly alarmed on the other. She also noted that many of us also simply do not think climate change will impact us personally no matter where we are on the spectrum. And, the primary symbol of climate change – a polar bear floating on thin sea ice – just doesn’t connect the climate change dots for most Americans. So what are we to do?
First, we need to talk about it! We need to bond and connect around our common values. Here in Sitka, we live close to nature every day and intrinsically value that. We hunt and fish for sport or a living; we hike and bike as well as bird or whale watch or help tourists who visit our amazing island home participate in those activities. We realize that the health of Sitka’s economy is dependent upon a healthy, resilient ecosystem.
Second, it’s important to affirm that 97 percent of scientists agree, based on the available evidence, that climate change is real, it’s us, and unfortunately, it’s bad. AND maybe more importantly, THERE’S HOPE! Individuals, municipalities, faith communities and businesses nationwide are taking fearless risks to address climate change from incentivizing renewable energy to eating lower down the food chain, to changing up transportation to growing more food locally. Check out Katharine Hayhoe’s YouTube series called Global Weirding for more amazing examples of creative individual and corporate responses to climate change or visit The Micah Challenge or A ROCHA.
Third, our community’s leadership can help to create the political will to act on a national level by endorsing the Citizen Climate Lobby’s Carbon Fee and Dividend program. It simply is not enough to act singly or at only a local level. CFD is a three-pronged approach to address rising carbon emissions. #1, it places a fee at the source of carbon extraction starting with $15 per ton of CO2 and progressively increases it annually. #2, 100 percent of the net fees are returned to American households on an equal basis offsetting the increased cost. #3, a border tariff adjustment is placed on goods imported from, or exported to, countries without an equivalent price on carbon. These strategies will reverse the market failure on carbon in our country and help us reduce carbon in the atmosphere.
If you have questions, visit www.citizensclimatelobby.org. There is a wealth of solid information on the website or check out their facebook page. The Sitka Chapter meets on the second Saturday of each month at 8:30 a.m. at Centennial Hall and all are invited.
Lisa Sadleir-Hart, Sitka
