GULF OIL SPILL

Eco-disaster a natural world wake-up call

We will soon be able to write the lessons we need to prevent another ocean from drowning in oil. However, a few (or even many) regulations, whether abided by or circumvented, will not matter if we do not learn more about our natural world and our place in it as the species at the top of the heap. We seem to prefer not to understand either, because it's obvious that our pretense that the natural world is below and we are above makes us feel so good about ourselves that we are able to deny any greater moral or expect ourselves to behave differently.

Such hubris has and will continue to wreak catastrophes. We should bury this conceit and show more reverence and responsibility for our place in the chain that supports all life.

BP is us! My hope is that this is the event that forces us to face the more important lessons.

MARIE WARD, STANCHFIELD, MINN.

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I have been watching with horror as one of the worst oil spills in American history continues unabated, and as millions of gallons of crude oil threaten our nation's vital Gulf coast ecosystem. This latest national environmental crisis reaffirms the oil industry's history of consistently underestimating the risks of drilling.

In light of the crisis, President Obama recently called for a timeout on new offshore drilling, but didn't specifically include the Arctic Ocean.

Despite the fact that there is no way to clean up a major oil spill amid the Arctic's broken sea-ice conditions, exploratory drilling is slated to begin in the Arctic Ocean in less than 60 days.

If the oil industry can't even stop a spill in the Gulf of Mexico, surrounded by all of its infrastructure and technology, how will it ever stop one at the top of the world?

TRACIA SEDIVY, MAPLEWOOD

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Want to bring the Gulf oil spill closer to home? Consider the number of years pollution has run off our farmland into the Minnesota River. Ask the folks living along Lake Pepin. How different from BP are the farmers who deny that their feedlot runoff, fertilizers and topsoil erosion are causing serious pollution? We're oversleeping yet another of nature's wakeup calls by failing to acknowledge and take action on this issue right in our own front yard.

TOM WATSON, APPLETON, MINN.

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For nearly a month, the outcry over the destruction of the Gulf of Mexico has become deafening. Fingers of blame are being correctly pointed at all involved parties. That horse, unfortunately, is long gone from the stable, and there is little chance that it will ever be recaptured alive.

Those who warned about that unlocked door were branded as alarmists at best and eco-kooks at worst. What is even more frightening is that even as this tragedy plays itself out, similar warnings are being cavalierly ignored.

Since 1982, the government has refused to approve and activate a safe, centralized repository for the growing piles of nuclear waste stored today in dangerous locations throughout the country. Yet we are annually pressured by industry to increase nuclear energy production with no agreed, safe solution to waste storage in sight.

For those of us in Minnesota, we all know that release of dangerous waste stored on an island in the middle of the northern Mississippi River, all set to pollute America's premier waterway, is as unlikely to occur as the alarmist fantasy of mass oil pollution of the Gulf and beyond. And besides, it will be someone else's fault, right?

PAUL J. LAREAU, Little Canada

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I can't plug the oil well in the Gulf, or clean the ocean and beaches. I can use less oil by biking to work and walking to the grocery store. It's not much, but it's something.

LEE SWANSON, Richfield

BIKE WALK WEEK

Ecological and energy benefits in bicycling

This week, cities across Minnesota are celebrating Bike Walk Week. An unprecedented number of commuters will savor the benefits of two wheels for health, fun, the environment and their bank accounts.

More than 70 percent of the trips that Americans take each day aren't work-related. More important, nearly half of our trips are three miles or less. For these short outings, bike riding makes sense.

Going six miles by bike instead of by car saves an average of $3, and three hours of riding per week can reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke by half.

If people are going to bike regularly, riding needs to be safe. It needs to be relaxing. Ideally, the route should be scenic. And when you arrive anywhere, a secure and convenient place to park your bike is essential.

Although cities such as Minneapolis and Rochester have made big steps toward becoming bike-friendly, in too many cities and towns across Minnesota and the country these conditions don't exist -- at least not yet.

The Bikes Belong Foundation is trying to change this. We've created a new national bike movement called peopleforbikes.org. Our goal is to get 1 million Americans to sign a pledge of support for bicycling.

Close to 50 million Americans ride each year. A few cost-effective investments in facilities could help bicycling become even more helpful in addressing key national challenges such as obesity, air pollution, and dependence on expensive, nonrenewable sources of energy.

TIM BLUMENTHAL, PRESIDENT, BIKES BELONG FOUNDATION, BOULDER, COLO.

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So there's a new bike-sharing program consisting of more than 700 bikes in Minneapolis ("Share the road, share the bike," June 7).

This $3.2 million program will be for "people who might like to take a three-mile trip to go buy something, or meet some friends, go hear music, whatever."

That's about $4,571 per bike.

It's good to see that the elected officials and business leaders contributing to this program are making tough decisions in this rough economy.

CHUCK CHARNSTROM, WATERTOWN, MINN.