Letters 5/4/23

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BETTER SOLUTION?

As the owner of a farm in Christian County, I have been watching closely the carbon capture debate (“A pause on the pipeline,” April 27). Carbon capture is somewhat of an unknown, so it is a particular concern for farmers. Not only is there a fear of pipelines breaking, but also, when pipelines go through farms, they can cause disruptions.

In spite of this, I have signed on with Navigator. And here’s why: in an attempt to wean ourselves from fossil fuels, we now have ethanol. The main ingredient of ethanol is corn, but the CO2 emissions from this are huge. We already have too much CO2 in the atmosphere and the deleterious effects of it are obvious. In other words, we are solving one problem and creating another. The pipeline will take an enormous amount of the CO2 produced by ethanol plants out of the atmosphere to be stored underground. (I have talked to two geologists and one scientist, who participated in a project which won a Nobel Prize, and they all say it is OK to store CO2 underground. ADM has been doing this on a smaller scale for years.)

I assume farmers are the ones who are objecting to the pipeline the most, and they are probably growing corn, as I am. Ethanol producers purchase a lot of corn, thus creating an increase in the price of corn, which benefits the farmers. Even if their corn is not sold for ethanol, the prices go up.

Then there is the climate factor. Farmers are the ones most affected by climate change. Their whole livelihood is dependent on it. Carbon capture is not a perfect solution. Do the farmers have alternative measures to address this?

Sarah Thomas
Springfield

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NOT DETRIMENTAL

You use Pat Brady quotes in an article where he says having Kellyanne Conway’s presence is detrimental to Illinois Republicans (“A polarizing presence,” April 20)?  No, sir, using quotes from Pat Brady is detrimental to Illinois Republicans. Brady is no more an Illinois Republican than JB Pritzker.

Jeff Cooper
Argyle, Texas
Former Republican Precinct Committeeman in DuPage County

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NOT A DEAL KILLER

Maybe some local Republicans aren’t racists, bigots, authoritarians, pro-white militia, gun fetishists, anti-democratic election-hoaxing insurrectionists, etc., but none of these things are deal killers for them.

Don Hanrahan
Via Facebook.com/illinoistimes

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PROUD OF OUR TOWN

I attended the local production of Our Town at the Hoogland – an extraordinary cast brought this amazing story to life, and my joy soared to see so many friends up on stage (“Multicultural Our Town celebrates life and love,” April 27).

The very next day, my congregation hosted a major fundraiser – this event had been suspended previously due to the pandemic, and the evening was filled with mirth and music. As the event was winding down, a fire broke out and the building had to be evacuated. As William Blake wrote, this was an occasion when joy and woe were woven fine. We are grateful to the responders from the fire departments of both Chatham and Springfield that arrived in our hour of need.

In the aftermath of that fire, we canceled services for Sunday, April 30. Coincidentally, my friend, Dan Frachey, had been scheduled to preach that morning – one night after he had appeared on stage in Our Town. In the days since then, I have received a torrent of calls and messages from faith and civic leaders across town, expressing their support and sympathy. Several have invited our congregation to worship in their space – a profound and humbling gesture. We are especially grateful to Mark Rabin, president of Temple B’rith Sholom, for his generous offer; by coincidence, when my congregation was established 70 years ago, the founders had met in that very same space.

As I consider the events of the past few days, I reflect more and more on the unique people of our town. I arrived here 20 years ago and each new season teaches me about the hospitality and care of this community, and I am grateful to call our town my home.


Rev. Martin Woulfe
Abraham Lincoln UU Congregation

This article appears in The micropantry movement.