Readers Write for Sunday, Dec. 13

Am I the only one who finds it really annoying that the issue of air pollution has entirely morphed into a debate about global warming?

Right here in St. Paul, within the past month there was an alert that breathing the air was unhealthy for a person of my age. This is not something you believe or disbelieve. It is an undisputed fact. And I have been in other cities recently where the air is much fouler than in St. Paul.

Air quality is an enormous planetwide problem, and this problem is not an abstract worry about what will happen in 10 or 20 years but a problem I will have to deal with now on my walk home from work as I breathe in the stinking air from all those tailpipes. Maybe we should quit arguing about global warming and start doing something to clean up air pollution.

NORMAN J. OLSON, MAPLEWOOD

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A Dec. 8 letter writer defended the integrity of the leading "climate change" scientists, whose leaked e-mails and documents revealed a pattern of data manipulated to push a political agenda. She commented that the peer review process averts bias. Unfortunately, those same stolen e-mails demonstrate that the same scientists who cherry-picked their data also intimidated their peers and peer-review publications. In short, their findings are as questionable as the review process that was supposed to validate them.

In science, skepticism is healthy, indeed it is the cornerstone of research. The lack of such skepticism among those who believe in man-made climate change -- and their inclination to bully those who disagree -- reflects the political, not scientific nature of their work.

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It's a shame that Sarah Palin, riding the crest of success generated by her recently published memoir, dares to stray into territory where ignorance exposes her to ridicule. In an opinion piece published in the Dec. 10 Star Tribune, Palin dismisses the scientific evidence in support of global warming as "fraudulent" and somehow designed to push the political agenda of a "radical environmental movement." She points to the unprofessional e-mail correspondence between a select few scientists as proof that all the climate science is flawed.

Scientists are not the science. To generalize in this fashion is not unlike maligning the intelligence of the Republican Party, based on a rogue politician's limited grasp of the scientific method.

SARAH SPONHEIM, MINNEAPOLIS

"A few inch ahead in governor's race" (Dec. 6) was an interesting article, in that it shows it's all about how much money you have and who you're going to owe for your seat. If you think that special interest money doesn't change things, check out how many environmental bills get defeated at the Legislature despite overwhelming DFL majorities.

I want a leader who leads from truth, honesty, passion and conviction, and doesn't move with the tide of money or what will poll the best.

CATHY HAUSER, MENDOTA HEIGHTS

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Steve Kelley has never lost a statewide general election, as was implied by your Dec. 6 article.

In 2006, Kelley was 19 votes shy of winning the DFL endorsement for governor. Had the DFL been smart enough to endorse Kelley in '06, they'd likely be running a reelection campaign instead of trying to win back the governorship after two decades.

On the same day President Obama accepts the Nobel Peace Prize, 16,000 U.S. troops are ordered to Afghanistan. They are not on a mission of peace. I don't get it.

CHARLES WOLF, LONG PRAIRIE, MINN.

What a surprise. The Dec. 11 article on University of Minnesota students not graduating "fast enough" slants toward the students as overworked victims. Where we these "kid gloves" when I was 18 years old? Where were the huddling terrified parents and psychologists when I wanted to slow down and party more instead of studying?

Yes, I got ripped off. I had parents and a community that expected more of me, and wasn't so politically correct that they were afraid to say it. I owe a big "thank you" to my parents' generation for not being the politically squishy "I-just-want-to-understand-you-better" parents that my generation has become.

Another surprise (not) is the U of M asking for more money to study this graduation phenomenon. Priceless.

We can't pay for enough police. We can't pay to clear our streets of ice and snow. We can't treat the sick at Hennepin County Medical Center. We can't keep libraries open.

So I think it is a perfect time to build a new Vikings stadium so Zygi Wilf can make more money.

CLARE MICHLIN, MINNEAPOLIS

Red Wing and Monticello officials are worried about the extra nuclear waste being stored on site and are at a loss for a solution. How about pushing the federal government to repeal President Jimmy Carter's law that prohibits re-using spent rods? Experts claim that re-using the spent rods will reduce waste by 80 percent and the technology to do so safely is already implemented in France. So why not apply it here? Problem solved.