Readers Write: Climate change, presidential election, education and diversity, women’s sports coverage, light rail, peanut allergies

Opinion editor’s note: Star Tribune Opinion publishes letters from readers online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

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As the presidential election gets closer, opinions about Donald Trump and his questionable character and ethics generate many opinions, including voting for him as the “lesser of two evils.”

Very few, if any, of the commentaries and letters mention the most important issue of our time, one that should leave no doubt as to the “lesser of two evils.” That issue is climate change. Trump campaigns on opening more land to drilling. Need I say more?

I find it ironic that the news is dominated by two types of stories: Weather events directly attributed to climate change, and Trump’s legal woes (of which there are many).

If ever in our history there was a time to vote single-issue, this is it. We’ve reached the climate-change cliff, and we need leadership in all facets of government willing to make the difficult decisions required to mitigate climate change. Clearly, Trump will not do that.

Nancy Hassett, Big Lake, Minn.

I have been inundated with emails from President Joe Biden, Sen. Amy Klobuchar and many others asking for donations. They are asking for small amounts — $10 to $100. I give what I can. Then I was reading about Trump’s meeting with oil executives and his promise to expand oil and gas drilling, and eliminate clean energy programs and any improvements to clean energy infrastructure. For those efforts he wants the oil execs to give him a billion dollars.

So here I sit, giving my $20 or $50 or maybe even $100 and it all seems so pointless. How can we, average citizens, compete against the superwealthy who are ready and willing to spend millions and millions to get their way? Citizens United has become the death knell for equitable democracy. God help us all.

Michael D. Thomsen, St. Paul

In a May 31 letter to the editor, a writer asked if anyone believes a large influx of non- or poor English speaking students will improve our kids’ education. My answer, as the parent of three current and former Minneapolis Public Schools students, is an emphatic yes.

My children have gained a much broader, inclusive and empathetic view of the world by attending diverse schools. Do I wish schools had more funding to support students who are learning English and others with special needs? Also an emphatic yes. Because of their positive experiences, my children have learned a crucial life lesson the writer has not: Xenophobia and racism are never the answer.

Thursday’s home opener for the Minnesota Aurora women’s soccer team was fantastic. The team played with precision, excellent teamwork and great skill — a 7-0 win. The passing was well executed, the goals were all skillfully won and the defense played strong. But the coverage in the Sports section focused entirely on the DJ, who admitted to being distracted by texts of the Timberwolves game (”Aurora dance to home opener victory,” May 31). Did the Star Tribune forget to send a sportswriter to the Aurora game? Oh, come on! When will women’s sports be treated with the respect they deserve? Star Tribune, you can do better than this!

Debbi Jo Dieter, Hopkins

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The best women hockey players in the world deserve better coverage. Thank goodness for A Bar of Their Own. It was opened this year by Jillian Hiscock to feature women’s sports. It was the one place I was aware of where I could watch the deciding game of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) for the championship in its first season. I called the day of the game and Mary very pleasantly assured me it would be on. It was only available on YouTube according to the Star Tribune sports listing.

Local media was at A Bar of Their Own getting fan reactions. This game needed better national, state and local coverage. The Minnesota Timberwolves got massive coverage from print, radio and television media. There was far less coverage of this amazing story of the PWHL playoffs. Thank you, A Bar of Their Own, for opening a venue dedicated to women’s sports. We so enjoyed watching our women athletes being awarded for the first time the prestigious Walter Cup. Chants of “Minnesota,” ”We want the Cup” and ”We have the Cup” echoed throughout the well-behaved, cheering crowd.

Gordon Hayes, Eagan

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In the early days of feminism, there were signs that read: “We will have achieved true equality when a mediocre woman can go as far as a mediocre man.”

Recent local sporting events prompt me to rephrase this observation to: “We will have achieved true equality when a winning team of women can receive as much press coverage as a losing team of men.”

Gaynell Schandel, Arden Hills

Jack Moore, Minneapolis

My grandchildren advised me that peanut products are not allowed in schools or public events as there might be someone so sensitive to them as to lead to severe reactions or even death. Peanut butter has been the staple of my life of 76 years, beginning at an early age in a frugal family of eight, and I rarely get through any day without it. Peanut butter sandwiches were lunch for all my school years and beyond, now likely a sore sight relative to the massive deli sandwiches today. I have tried all the various other nut butters, but peanut butter remains my favorite, good with almost everything: toast, pancakes, smoothies, dips, sauces, etc.

Thank goodness there may be hope for reducing the peanut allergy (”Babies exposed to peanuts less likely to be allergic years later,” May 30). Health advisers cautioned us some years ago that peanuts caused cancer and were best avoided; then in 2000 they advised allowing peanut products only after age three. More recently, in 2017, peanut product exposure was recommended at 4-6 months to minimize later allergies, and we are now seeing the positive results.

At scout camp years ago a camp counselor did a routine skit of dealing with a wad of peanut butter stuck to the roof of his mouth that was hilarious and left us all in stitches of laughter. Hopefully, the scourge of peanut allergies will also have a happy ending to advance this treasured staple of joy.