Cold is cold enough
Re: “How cold should it be to open shelters?” Nov. 29 news story
I read the recent article in The Denver Post with amazement that a question like this would even need to be discussed. Where is the humanity and compassion in such a question? If it is too cold for you to sleep on the cold ground all night or to consider leaving your pet outside, then it is too cold for an unsheltered person to be outdoors.
I have seen people of all ages pushing, carrying or pulling all their belongings with them, who need food, restroom facilities and shelter in nice weather.
For those of us lucky enough to have a roof over our heads and warmth from the cold, let’s not quibble about when it is too cold to deny another human being that same warmth.
Mary K. August, Lakewood
The value of subscribing
I continue to subscribe to The Denver Post and our Golden Transcript. It seems to me that there is personal and social value in reading the news and the stories from around Denver, the state, the nation and the world. We become aware of the interesting, rewarding, and sometimes heroic or difficult experiences of people and various organizations. However, I often read stories, letters, and editorials that increase my world of thought and community awareness and what I might be able to do to help in the community and for our institutions.
Yes, I often hear that newspapers are more limited and much more expensive than they used to be. With fewer and fewer people actually paying for newspaper delivery to our homes, the price of reporting, publishing, and delivery is bound to increase, and some news stories will be limited. For those who subscribe, we have seen our costs rise considerably. However, as in a third-grade economics lesson, “Everything has a trade-off.” The news stories and Open Forum letters are part of my trade-off for a more interesting and understanding awareness and participation in my small and larger community. So, I’ll continue my subscriptions to the newspapers and my support for their journalists and delivery persons.
Janet Johnson, Golden
Water a limited resource
Re: “As U.S. groundwater dwindles, powerful players block change,” Nov. 26 news story
Thank you, Denver Post, for reprinting a very comprehensive and informative story about how constructive changes in water policy are being blocked in our state capitals by big business and corporate agriculture.
It says a lot when the New York Times sends a pair of top-notch reporters out West to investigate what should have been readily apparent to our area’s politicians and voters all along.
Thus, we have the ongoing development of raw real estate in massive proportions along our Front Range. We see the big development trend extending to my small town of Buena Vista, where our town board is currently under pressure to issue more building permits even as the future viability of our water resources is in question.
We have numerous examples in Arizona and other states where new housing developments have prematurely drained their aquifers. I guess hauling water in by the truckload is cheaper for local authorities than using their common sense to limit unsustainable growth. Then, we have long drought periods in which water becomes scarce despite our efforts to limit our usage.
Mother Nature, not mankind, controls the availability and distribution of that precious liquid we call water. When we don’t take heed of her most glaring and alarming warnings, we will suffer the dire consequences of our ignorance.
Gary E. Goms, Buena Vista
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