Letters to the Editor, Aug. 30

No dust is good for community, residents

To dust or not to dust, that is the question. Whether ’tis nobler to suffer the slings and arrows of asbestos dust as slung by those testosterone-addled boys and man-boys atop their knobby, tired, steely, stinky steeds, or shall we deny this scourge of cheap thrills for the immature few for the protection of the many?

The Mojave Desert is not a naturally dusty place. We never experience the half-mile-high dust storms or haboobs like the one that recently enveloped Phoenix.

Over eons, the Mojave has developed a thick crust held together partially by asbestos. Break this crust and dust can become wind-borne, asbestos and all, with the slightest breeze.

So let’s use the word I am working my way up to: mesothelioma. Asbestos, when inhaled, is in your lungs forever. Microscopically, asbestos looks like trillions of little fishhooks. Mesothelioma is a slow death sentence.

So I ask thee, why tolerate any man-made dust at all? We must protect our fair village from this scourge. So go forth and proclaim to one and all that henceforth no dust is good dust.

I bid thee fare-thee-well with a wish for good health and long life for all.

P.S. This will be discussed at the Tuesday, Sept. 4, town hall meeting. I’ll be there. Join me.

Carl “Carlos” Raines

Gaming better alternative than off-road vehicles

Boulder City officials are concerned that new sources of economic development are needed to offset anticipated lost revenues resulting from Interstate 11. Why not gaming? There is certainly room in Boulder City for a hotel-casino. The Buxton study appears to have ignored the economic leakage associated with gaming and entertainment.

The South Point and Station casinos recently helped sponsor our National Night Out. Mayor (Rod) Woodbury and related political candidates in Boulder City have accepted campaign contributions from South Point. If Boulder City officials can accept sponsorships and political contributions from casinos, why can’t we welcome the casino/hospitality industry into our community as a new source of economic development.

Boulder City staff is advancing a proposal to legalize off-highway vehicles on city streets with the intent of promoting Boulder City as a destination for OHV tourism. Have our leaders forgot about the failure of the city’s motocross track franchise? Allowing OHVs on our city streets will turn our town and neighborhoods into an OHV park. Traffic, noise and dust will increase while the quality of life for most residents will decrease.

On Sept. 4, Boulder City staff will lead a town hall meeting to explain how legalizing OHVs and promoting OHV tourism is going to work for us. Residents who value our quiet neighborhoods and safe streets should attend this meeting and express themselves.

Legalizing OHVs comes with a wide range of impacts, some of which are apparently not being addressed. This proposal should not be forced upon us by elected officials. This is a matter that should be placed on a ballot for voting by the community. There are other alternatives for new economic development. We can keep Boulder City “clean and green” and make our economy even greener by responsibly allowing gaming.

Mark Reischman

Solutions possible for Lake Mead water shortage

Henry Brean’s article in the Aug. 23 Bouder City Review about the Colorado River water shortage prompted me to take another look at my book, “Possible Technical Solutions to Lake Mead Water Shortage,” in commutefaster.com/vesperman.html. An overview with updates is in the “Technical Solutions to Water Shortages” group of my exhibit “Gallery of Clean Energy Inventions.”

Air wells could provide individual buildings with their own off-line source of water. Vast underground reservoirs of mineralized water are in central Nevada. Mineralized water as well as sea water could be desalinated with hydrosonic pumps powered by Spiteri water pumps at no energy cost.

Just east of the zip line at the top of the ridge is a fault between red and black rocks. That seems to be a candidate source of primary water. Etheric weather engineering devices scattered around the Colorado River Basin can stimulate intensive rainstorms. Saltech’s Dynamic Recovery System can cheaply recover up to 97 percent clean water from seawater and mineralized water. The solar-powered Watly’s vapor compression distillation process can desalinate seawater and mineralized water. Archimedean desalination can reduce desalination costs more than 90 percent.

Gary Vesperman