Letters to the Editor, Dec. 12

Explore new energy sources

Ann Shanklin opined in the Dec. 5 Boulder City Review that we should “stop climate change now.” In the fall of 1967, I took Meteorology 101 at University of Wisconsin-Madison, where I earned a Bachelor of Science in electrical engineering in January 1968. Our professor was Dr. Reid Bryson, who chaired the meteorology department and has been credited by some climatologists as the father of modern climatology.

One day after class, we happened to walk together for a ways. I clearly remember asking him about global warming vs. global cooling. Which was going to win? He said global cooling due to a combination of increased dust and air pollution reflecting sunlight. A search found that he still thought in 2007 that man-made global warming is absurd. His reasons are set forth in an article on Uncommon Descent that can be found at http://bit.ly/36qJEar.

Sometimes, costly American efforts to eliminate 300 U.S. coal plants and electrify transportation vehicles to reduce our contribution to the world’s carbon dioxide are pointlessly trivial. For comparison, in five years, eight other countries including China and India will have 5,165 coal plants. China’s coal mine fires massively add still more carbon dioxide.

My website http://www.commutefaster.com/vesperman.html links to my compilations of 102 electrical energy innovations, ball lightning fusion reactors and the Gallery of Clean Energy Inventions exhibit. The exhibit profiles nearly 60 new generators and 40 candidate power sources for self-powered vehicles. These new energy sources should be proactively investigated and developed to provide cheaper, safe, more reliable and emissions-free energy sources. But to curb global warming does not seem to be a valid reason.

Gary Vesperman

Firefighters shouldn’t need assistance from Henderson

On Dec. 10 at approximately 10 a.m., there was a another tragic home fire in our town. Our fire department got there very quickly, I am told. The Henderson Fire Department showed up to help — again. So again I ask myself, and now you, this question. Why is Henderson Fire Department needed to assist in every home fire? Do we not have enough firemen on duty? Do we not have enough firemen on staff? If we do, why can’t off-duty firefighters come in and help?

I know we have a heavy rescue, a fire truck, a ladder truck and two ambulances. Why is that not enough equipment?

How much does it cost the city to call Henderson to assist each time there is a fire? Why not call off-duty firemen?

Every time this happens, it perpetuates the old stories and jokes that the Boulder City Fire Department can’t fight its way out of a paper bag without Henderson helping. Henderson should not have to help with a garage fire.

And my dad was a fireman for more than 15 years, and worked for Boulder City in 1967-70.

Tracy Somers