Readers Write (Dec. 29): Private drones, wolves, the police, 'Motown the Musical,' coal industry

It has been hard not to notice the discussions about drones, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles, or UAVs. I can see many good and bad things that can be achieved by their use. There seem to be two main issues: safety and privacy. The Federal Aviation Administration seems to be charged with coming up with a workable solution.

One thing that would go a long way in resolving most issues would be to license the pilots of these drones. Applicants could test for either a commercial or a private license. Businesses could either have in-house pilots or contact a business that supplies a licensed pilot and a certified drone. They could base their decision on their need and on what would make sense financially.

All drones that leave private property should be certified as airworthy, be flown by a licensed pilot, and carry a transponder that would identify the owner and pilot. This is where the FAA would come in. I am sure that there could be clauses in the license agreement that could go a long way toward ensuring the legal and ethical use of this new and exciting technology.

It is perplexing that a Dec. 23 letter writer chose to single out "special interest" groups that he implies are the ones who decided there would be wolf hunts. He failed to note that the new ruling that put the wolves back on the endangered-species list was because of a lawsuit from the Humane Society of the United States — a special-interest group that caters to animal care.

As a fish biologist working with endangered species in the Colorado River Basin, I know the difficulties of working with various stakeholders who regard an imperiled species much differently than I do. However, as a Minnesotan, I will always favor supposed "special interests" such as deer hunting, farming and trapping that embody our state heritage much more appropriately than a nationwide special-interest group that sees limited utility in animals besides as pets. Despite the Humane Society's good intentions and work elsewhere, its lawsuit has ruined an opportunity for Minnesota to cultivate its wolf-management plan. Minnesota should move to appeal the ruling.

As director of a Ramsey County juvenile crime prevention program, I taught and worked with police officers for many years. I remember thinking that if they hadn't decided to become police officers, many would have become chaplains. Most sincerely wanted to help people and protect their communities.

I also worked with children at high risk to become serious, chronic and violent offenders, and with their families. Their neighborhoods had high levels of family violence, extreme poverty, school failure, joblessness, homelessness and street violence. Still, most residents were hardworking, decent people.

In these places, anti-social behavior and school failure is a response to years of systematic exclusion and oppression. You can say that's making excuses. But you really don't know that until you have lived there and "walked in their shoes."

It's time to recognize our common humanity. Let's not blame the victim, or the cops, or teachers, or superintendents or mayors. All lives matter. Exclusion and oppression is our problem. Only we, working together, can solve it.

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Writing as a (retired) public schoolteacher who is married to a (similarly retired) law enforcement officer, I cannot help but extrapolate the current wave of what one could call "anti-cop" behavior: Having endured years in which teachers have been blamed for many of modern society's ills, what is it about the front lines of public service that makes us — and our peers — the target of so much derision from many in the community?

"Motown The Musical," in its run at the Orpheum Theatre, wowed the audience on so many levels. We went anticipating the beautiful renditions of what put the black sound on the map, with the Temptations, the Four Tops, Marvin Gaye, Smokey Robinson and so many others.

That really was the takeaway of the run of "Motown" that ended in Minneapolis on Sunday. That element of love so forgotten by the constraints of our society is sorely missed today. From the important movement of "black lives matter" and the confusion that exists in our societal relations today, this show suggested why Motown was ever an inspiration in the first place.

Along the way, there are history lessons that, although parodied for audience appeal, were very real in the 1960s and '70s. This musical reminds us of a different time, though the same needs exist today. We still, when all is said and done, must learn to love one another.

The coal industry spokesman who wrote the article "Securing the future of the state's energy" (Business Forum, Dec. 22), repeatedly used the theme "detractors of coal won't tell you." With this pose of being the one who's providing the full picture, it's really curious that he pointedly avoided mention of the problem of climate change — which is more and more widely being recognized as the biggest threat to our future.

I'll agree with him that we do want to have "affordable, reliable energy for today and for the future," but it's increasingly apparent that to protect our kids, our health and safety, our food supplies (and prices), and our economy from climate disruption, we need to move as quickly and strongly as we can toward clean, renewable energy and away from high-carbon-footprint, fossil-fuel-based energy. High-carbon-footprint fossil fuels include coal, tar sands oil and natural gas, unless the gas is produced and delivered in a way that minimizes leakage of methane to the atmosphere.