Wealthy residents use plenty of city services Re:”‘Soak the rich’ rhetoric rules in D.C.,” Sept. 27
Harry Jaffe shows himself to be amazingly selfish without even bothering to get his facts right. He states that those living west of Rock Creek Park don’t use the city services they finance.
What about police, fire, emergency medical services, dog parks, roads, snow and leaf removal, garbage collection, public schools (especially now that more of their kids are enrolled), Metro, and a host of other city services, Mr. Jaffe? They are also the first to yell if any of these services aren’t up to par.
Yes, taxes often are a transfer of wealth. Thankfully, there are many wealthy individuals who still believe in paying taxes to help others rise from poverty and pay for a myriad of other needs. The District can only be glad that the Jaffes of the world aren’t the ones making the decisions or we would be living in a very different city.
Peter D. Rosenstein
Washington
Wind provides clean sustainable energy and jobs
Re: “O’Malley’s wind energy plan worse than hot air,” Local Editorial, Sept. 27
Your editorial seriously missed the mark. The wind industry is a bright spot in the economy, adding jobs and revitalizing homegrown manufacturing. Offshore and land-based wind in the region could spur a significant new sustainable industry for Maryland workers.
In the United States, more than 75,000 people work in the land-based wind industry, with more than 400 wind-related manufacturing plants in 43 states. The U.S. Departments of Energy and Interior are currently targeting the deployment of 54 gigawatts of offshore wind generating capacity by 2030, which would create more than 43,000 permanent jobs, spur approximately 20.7 additional jobs per annual MW installed, and generate an estimated $200 billion in new economic activity.
Wind power provides a reliable hedge against volatile fossil fuel prices and makes a utility system more reliable. For example, wind energy was crucial in helping meet peak demand during Texas’s recent heat waves.
Wind has a proven record of providing clean, affordable and homegrown energy. Additional wind energy can be a vital economic engine for the entire mid-Atlantic region. The development of the supply chain for land-based wind in the United States was fostered by stable government policy and this is what is needed for the development of offshore wind manufacturing as well.
Chris Long
Manager of offshore wind and siting policy,
American Wind Energy Association
Corruption, waste stall environmental efforts
Re: “Baltimore, D.C. among nation’s smoggiest cities,” Sept. 22
Isn’t it interesting that the D.C./Baltimore region, which touts itself for having the best environmental record, also has some of the nation’s worst smog?
These two jurisdictions with the highest number of left-wing environmental advocates are pathetically inefficient while our wonderful Chesapeake Bay is dying and our air quality is atrocious during peak summer months because local governments and the Environmental Protection Agency are corrupt and inefficient.
Get the liberals out of Annapolis and defund EPA.
Norman Hendrickson
Bowie
