Readers Write (Jan. 30): Bud Selig, the climate, the economy, vaccinnation

First, let's be clear: George Will and Bud Selig are friends. That Will would write a column espousing Selig's "leadership" (Opinion Exchange, Jan. 29) is no surprise. Selig certainly did significant things to advance Major League Baseball, but he also presided over — and, one could argue, tacitly encouraged — the steroid era, a permanent blemish on the sport's legacy. Whenever a new star bursts onto the scene, whether it be Ryan Braun (suspended for steroid use), Chris Davis (suspended for amphetamine use) or Mike Trout (not suspended for anything, yet), I immediately question whether that individual is cheating.

It is this distrust of success in the sport that Selig helped to create when he, as acting commissioner until 1998 and as commissioner thereafter, looked the other way as Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa jump-started baseball's rise in the years following the 1994-95 strike, culminating in the epic home-run record chase of 1998 and Barry Bonds' subsequent record-breaking years. Selig waited far too long to take substantive action, prioritizing the post-strike recovery and commercial success of Major League Baseball over the integrity of the game. To me, that is his real legacy, and I think many fans who are not personal friends of the former commissioner would agree.

I applaud the Star Tribune Editorial Board for its clarion call for urgent action on climate change ("As Midwest warms, economy will suffer," Jan. 27). Indeed, Minnesotans must prepare for these economic threats, including projected health impacts as reported by the Minnesota Department of Health's Climate and Health program.

According to the Clean Energy Economy report (Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development, October 2014), the state is competitively positioned, given its early start and continued support of clean energy; is growing its clean-energy market rapidly, lowering its reliance on imported energy; saw clean-energy employment of 15,300 in 2014, and was eighth nationally in clean-energy patents in 2013.

Clean-energy jobs yield higher average wages, surpassing $71,000 in 2013, 42 percent higher than the overall $51,000 average. Employment growth in clean energy is outpacing the total state job-growth rate.

Our threats from climate change are disturbingly real and urgent. But now is the time to rally for solutions, not throw up our hands in despair.

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Many of us would say worry over climate change is unrealistic, that any changes are merely part of the long-term natural climate cycles on Earth. While we all may agree that control and reduction of pollution throughout the world is a worthy goal, we continuously have new, innovative technologies solving problems, and we just need the will to implement them worldwide.

For the open-minded among us, there are excellent independent resources that provide the true sound science on climate — past, current and future. Craig Rucker of the Committee for a Constructive Tomorrow offered an excellent rebuttal discrediting President Obama's comments on global warming. ClimateDepot.com is also a good independent resource.

We all want clean air and water; adequate healthful food, and long, healthy lives. A more realistic approach, free of unproven maybes, could lead to solutions and future generations' healthy survival on Earth.

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I'm surprised the Star Tribune printed a letter from a climate-change denier (Jan. 29). As I wrote to the St. Paul Villager recently, publishing letters denying climate change is like publishing letters denying the Holocaust.

I agree fully with a Jan. 29 letter writer that the American economy is not a "Monopoly" game — though he might have a hard time explaining why the middle class has been shrinking and the number in poverty growing.

Are not the rich and ultrarich in control of the economy to the detriment of many others? The recent recession, as I understand it, was wholly or partly caused by the largest banks peddling toxic derivatives even as they realized the danger, and they even made profits as the economy collapsed. That's not "Monopoly," but it looks even worse.

How did the Waltons build their fortune? Partly by admirable innovations and careful planning, but also by taking advantage of employees sometimes by questionable means: breaks denied, overtime without extra pay and so on.

Consider the many big-box stores, except Costco, from the viewpoint of many employees: They are required to work close to the level where they are entitled to benefits, but their names remain on the full-time request list for years.

The writer was correct that the economy is not a "Monopoly" game, but that doesn't mean the game isn't fixed. Besides, in a "Monopoly" game, everyone starts out equal.

While it may be true that the Treasury can print an infinite amount of paper money, as the Jan. 29 letter writer states, resources in the world are finite, and as they are depleted and prices rise, they become less affordable to those who are not able to attain wealth.

Quite like "Monopoly" after all.

In response to the Jan. 28 cartoon and to a Jan. 29 letter about vaccinations, please listen to another side of this issue. Unless you are the parent or grandparent of a child who has been injured by vaccines, you cannot be objective. Our 8-month-old grandson was stricken with transverse myelitis as a direct result of vaccines. When a doctor provides you with the name of an attorney, you realize the medical community is totally aware of the harm vaccines can do.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention state that for the majority of the population, vaccines are a good thing. I agree. However, for a small percentage, they are not, as evidenced by the multimillion-dollar compensation fund that exists for such injuries. Please don't judge! You have not walked in our shoes.