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Hernando Today

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

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The Tampa Tribune

Published: June 25, 2008

Invest In THE Bus

We did not need a $20,000 study in regards the use and future of THE Bus. Why didn't we use the local community college or high school to conduct the study as part of their social studies programs?

For one, I laughed when the commissioners were talking a few years ago about Hernando County being a bedroom community for Tampa workers. Honestly, they really did not understand the economics or demographics or logistics of our community.

What I really see is a lack of leadership in this country, the state and, in particular, this county. We need someone who can handle the abuse of the conservatives who are always bellyaching about most thongs even when they are good. This county is vibrant with negativism. Negativism is also sign of unhappiness and discontent.

We need someone who can transcend this and take the risk for the good of the people rather than seeking personal gain or popularity. I am tired of the bobble-head politicians.

Now, let us go back to "Dump THE Bus," which has been on table for a while. Based on the demographics and density of the population, THE Bus will not work nor ever work unless there is some serious investment by the community towards its success.

THE Bus is a taxpayers' investment that benefits the community. We all should make an all out effort to use THE Bus and to get our ROI - return on investment. If we lose THE Bus, we are the losers in this energy crisis, which reappears every generation or so and becomes more critical each time.

If there is a person of vision in our community, he/she needs to listen to what the taxpayers want in regards to THE Bus. Some of the suggestions are better schedules, more days of operation and proximity to where the citizens live. In order to make such work, are the taxpayers willing to foot the bill for the possible success of such? I hear the blatant "No." Reason for such response, the taxpayers are not much for seeing things beyond what they place on their table and how much entertainment they get. We are very short-term thinkers with a 6-year-old's attention span.

I offer another solution. There are non-voting taxpayers, businesses out there who could reap the benefit from THE Bus. Since they already pay for THE Bus, why do they not endorse THE Bus? The day is here when the businesses may have problems of employees not showing up to work because they cannot afford the cost of gasoline. Look at our economic structure. Hernando County is basically a service economy supported by retail businesses. Also, look at the customers of this economy. There are seniors or retirees, working families who barely earn enough to survive in this economy, and they are supported by government programs. I fault the local chamber of commerce for not supporting THE Bus.

I do not know if the local employers are aware they can pay for their employees' use of THE Bus with vouchers or buying THE Bus passes for them without the employees having to incur additional taxable income. In a sense, it might be cheaper than giving the employee a raise to pay for the gas. Next, the employers have to be flexible with the working hours and allow for the failure of the transportation to bring their employees to work on time.

The local businesses should become more socially responsible and work with THE Bus to get express services during the so-called rush hours to points where the employees are needed. Also, it will be a public relations opportunity for such businesses when their employees meet and greet their customers on THE Bus. It is good to see the Wal-Mart or Publix employees on THE Bus in another environment other than behind a counter. They do smile and have families.

Car pooling is workable but not in this world where everyone sues everyone. I would shy away from car pooling. Just look at those attorney ads on TV.

Also, the local taxpayers have to change their negative attitude. The so-called conservatives should wake up, accept reality and take appropriate action to be socially responsible to the community and to their neighbors. By taking on the social responsibility, we can avoid the possible onslaught of socialism that lurks on the horizon because of the failed economic policies.

Do we have to pay? "Things for free" went out the door after the last land rush to settle the Old West. There is always a price to pay - direct or indirect. Today, the price is more indirect.

Here is a selfish thought, "The more they ride THE Bus, the more gas for you."

Fred Peters

Brooksville

The Sun, Not Humans,

Causes Global Warming

Dallas Dunlap missed the point of my letter. There is no doubt in my mind that global warming does in fact exist. If it were not for global warming the four or so major ice ages and many more mini ice ages might never have ended. So global warming and cooling is nothing new; the Earth has a rich history of such cycles. Even Co2 levels have fluctuated up and down over the millennia.

I challenge the notion that humans contribute to it in any way and whether or not there is anything that can be done about it. The sun is getting hotter, solar output has increased 10 percent and solar radiation reaching the Earth is 0.036 percent warmer than it was in 1986. The finding is based on an analysis of satellites that measure the temperature of sunlight. Might that not have something to do with increasing temps? What about the ice caps melting on Mars? Are we to believe that the Martians are leaving little green carbon footprints all over their planet as well?

More than 30,000 scientists have signed on to a declaration that states, "The sun appears to drive climate change; human activity has little or nothing at all to do with it." Increased solar output thereby warms the planet in two ways - by direct radiation and decreased cloud cover. Conversely, when the sun is less bright more cosmic rays are able to get through to Earth's atmosphere, more clouds form and the planet cools more than would otherwise be the case due to direct solar effects alone. This is precisely what happened from the middle of the 17th century into the early 18th century, when the solar energy input to our atmosphere, as indicated by the number of sunspots, was at a minimum and the planet was stuck in the Little Ice Age.

What would you propose we do about it, install a dimmer switch on the Sun or do what Al Gore thinks ought to be done and create a global tax? Global warming is not the problem here; it has existed since the beginning of time. The problem is government trying to sell us on another tax so they can have more of our money to spend. The money collected wouldn't be spent on solving global warming, so what would it buy?

A portion will be spent on educating (brain-washing) us on how to reduce our carbon footprints and how more money is needed in the form of higher taxes to win the war on global warming. The rest would only get frittered away on whatever government deemed fit. NASA would be one of the big winners. The space agency would get to blast more rockets into space, all in the name of probing the effects of global warming on the upper atmosphere.

I believe many who advocate global warming are less interested in preserving the environment for future generations as they are at getting into our wallets. They are willing to go so far as to scare little children with doomsday stories to do it. Who would rob them of their childhood and steal away their innocent carefree days just so they can fill government coffers. They are sick, demented and pathological liars who are willing to say and do anything to achieve that end.

Lorne DeWitt

Brooksville

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