Wake up America - we are harming the environment

Americans hurt the environment

Kudos to Martin Zimmerman for pointing the finger at us, the American people, for contributing to on our climate change. Every time we leave the lights on when the room is empty, every time we let the water run when brushing our teeth, every time we allow merchants to provide bags when we should be bringing our own cloth bags, and every time we accept the Styrofoam box at the restaurant for our leftover lunch, rather than bringing our own container. The list goes on and on. We are enlarging the carbon footprint. Come on, people, wake up!

We can create more ‘Idlewilds’

Idlewild Elementary, just named “America’s best magnet school,” embodies a new frontier for decreasing concentrations of school poverty – targeting schools in ethnically and economically diverse neighborhoods.

Such schools now lose up to 40 percent of their assigned students to magnets, leaving mostly high-needs students. High teacher turnover, limited course offerings and few extra-curricular opportunities diminish their success.

Schools such as Idlewild, East Mecklenburg, Oakhurst and Shamrock Gardens have shown that it is possible to attract assigned students regardless of income. How? A stable, experienced teaching force; high-quality programs; strong extra-curricular offerings; attractive partial magnets; culturally diverse environments; high expectations for all.

Residents of diverse communities are ready to work with our new superintendent to create more Idlewilds.

Make our state function again

I want a state that functions properly. The Observer’s recent feature story about our broken prison system due to underfunding and mismanagement reminded me of the paper’s earlier story about the problems with the state’s Medical Examiner system. This was also attributed to underfunding and mismanagement. Of course, we’ve all read about our inadequately funded schools that too often deliver poor quality education. And sadly, the list goes on.

Our elected representatives seem to prioritize tackling controversial bathroom rules and creating illegal racial gerrymandering and voting rules – all of which seriously damage our state’s reputation – over fulfilling their basic responsibility for making sure that our state functions properly. It’s time to roll up the sleeves and do the unglamorous, but vital peoples’ work.

Charlotte needs a train at the airport

To further enhance its status as a passenger transportation hub, Charlotte needs full-size train service at the airport. Getting people out of their automobiles and into a roomy, modern railroad coach is a strategy that works well at airports in Baltimore, Milwaukee, San Francisco and even South Bend, Indiana.

The “heavy rail” corridor exists to Charlotte. Even if Norfolk Southern demanded a passenger track laid parallel to its freight line, it would be far less costly than a light rail line that could move fast enough to attract riders.

A train would be an alternative for people living as far away as Greensboro. N.C. sponsored trains could continue to Gastonia or Shelby. An airport stop might help get additional Amtrak runs through Charlotte, especially day trains connecting to Atlanta.

Here are some ideas to fix the budget

The Charlotte Observer Editorial Board is definitely leaning toward liberal bias. It scorns Mick Mulvaney’s budget proposals to rein in the government’s unsustainable overspending.

A simple solution would be to use the figure a government department spent last year, and cut that figure 15 percent. Do this every subsequent year until we reach a balanced budget where spending equals income.

There’s another way to cut would be more drastic. Use Rick Perry’s idea from a past Presidential debate: cut all aid going to foreign countries to zero until that country can prove it needs the aid – not just a goodwill handout.

A wiser way to cut the UNC budget

Don't cut funding for the UNC Chapel Hill Law School. Cut funding for the UNC Athletic Department and the Rams Club.

This story was originally published June 8, 2017 at 7:07 AM with the headline "Wake up America - we are harming the environment."