Mansion report: Let’s live within our planet’s means
Re: “Lifestyles of the orange and famous,” Aug. 25 features story
I read the story about the Broncos version of “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” with some disdain. No, it doesn’t surprise me that Bo Nix has a 6,551 square-foot home, that Von Miller has a 19,000 square-foot home, or that the Walton Family is spending $50 million to “build a luxury compound.”
Why would a couple with no kids need 6,000-plus square feet of living space? I know from experience that a family of four can live very luxuriously in a house with 2,000 square feet of space, or even much less.
My disdain comes from the American belief that more is better. Just because you can afford it does not mean that you should do it, or buy it. This is the time of global warming when we should all be doing what we can to lessen our impact on the earth. Having a huge house means that a large amount of energy must be expended just to heat and cool the building. There’s also the big impact of all the materials needed to build and furnish it.
I suggest that these millionaires take responsibility for their exponentially high environmental impact. They could at least install high-efficiency heating and cooling equipment, such as ground-coupled heat pumps. They could also cover their roofs and lawns with solar collectors with battery storage.
Instead of spending millions on their trophy homes, they could donate millions to environmental groups that are working hard to mitigate the impact of global warming, which is primarily affecting the world’s poor. The rich can afford to buy their way out of the problem.
Richard Phillips, Denver
Back to the drawing board, Mr. Mayor
Re: “Denverites will vote on largest dedicated sales tax in city’s history,” Aug. 20 news story
How many of you are in the habit of signing a blank check and then handing it to someone who says, “Trust me?” This is exactly what Mayor Mike Johnston is trying to do with the proposed 0.5% sales tax increase. This tax is supposed to provide funds to make housing in Denver more affordable. Please give the city $100 million every year for 40 years and trust Mayor Johnston (and all future mayors) to spend it wisely.
Denver has a housing affordability problem. I am ready to vote to raise my taxes to support a program that has exact plans, accountability and an end date well before 2064 (which makes this proposed tax, for all practical purposes, permanent). Mayor Johnston’s plan has none of these things.
So get your act together, Mayor. Vague good intentions do not solve problems. Please hammer out a real plan that tells the people of Denver exactly how the money will be spent if they raise their taxes to fund affordable housing. Otherwise, I shall be voting against it.
Guy Wroble, Denver
Free Paul Watson, protector of whales
It is time for Denmark to prevent a gross injustice. Captain Paul Watson is a dedicated protector of our oceans and the wonderful array of life within.  We knew him through “Whale Wars” on Animal Planet as a courageous activist who did all he could to expose and obstruct the slaughter of whales in a marine sanctuary. Japan’s whaling slaughter was subsequently deemed illegal at the International Court of Justice in the Hague in 2014. Now Japan has bullied Denmark into jailing Captain Watson in Greenland and is demanding his extradition to Japan where they can persecute him.  Why? To silence him as they have just started to slaughter whales again.  In the sights of their harpoons?  Endangered fin whales. These gentle giants are the second-largest mammal in the world. They deserve protection, not an agonizing death. We can only hope that Denmark will find the courage to stand up to this Japanese travesty.
Ed Talbot, Arvada
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