GAMBLING MONEY AS SAVINGS

The Local Spin column about the scam of lotteries [March 8-14] triggered my memory about a neat way to capitalize on the inevitable human desire of getting something for nothing. >>Forbes magazine on May 22, 2006 suggested earmarking half of a lottery ticket purchase to a personal retirement savings account. I would appreciate hearing how you would alter or improve on the suggestion. —Frank Seidle | Pacific Grove

GLOBAL SUICIDE BY FLATULENCE

Many of us have by now heard the phrase, “What’s your carbon footprint?” But now it seems more important to ask “What’s your methane footprint?”

Methane comes out of the bowels of every mammal, we humans not excepted. It’s a natural byproduct of digestion. However, methane is one of those highly reactive hydrocarbons that attack ozone. Under normal conditions the earth’s protective ozone layer can handle the methane thrown at it by all the farting creatures roaming Terra Firma. But now PETA—an organization I haven’t always concurred with concerning certain issues—has come out with some interesting data that suggests that livestock production is resulting in 130 times as much greenhouse gases as all the world’s internal combustion engines combined. Most of those gases are methane.

This dovetails into a theory I proposed more than 10 years ago concerning a contributing factor to the demise of the dinosaurs. I had read various articles in >>Scientific American and >>Discover concerning the fact that the dinosaurs were already heading for extinction before the alleged asteroid event 65 million years ago. Perhaps the dinosaurs were farting themselves into extinction. Can you imagine the volume of methane being expelled everyday by billions of gigantic creatures?

So now the question is whether or not we are farting ourselves into a catastrophic climate change by virtue of too many farting people eating too much farting livestock, rather than what Al Gore claims we are doing through the consumption of oil.

Interesting, is it not, that we are burning the decomposed flesh of dinosaurs in our engines while we are possibly farting ourselves towards another ice age, and it was the dinosaurs themselves who possibly farted themselves into oblivion? This is funny stuff, if you allow yourself to see the ironic and coincidental humor. —Jeffrey Van Middlebrook | Pacific Grove

WELCOME TO SPRAWLBURBIA

Have you ever wanted to live in Los Angeles or San Jose? Well, don’t go away, because LA/SJ traffic jams may be coming to a road near you, if they haven’t already come to your neighborhood. Our Supervisors have developed a general plan that will encourage LA/SJ type development, without providing for adequate roads.

Say goodbye to quick commutes. Say goodbye to clean air. Say goodbye to our wonderful Monterey County lifestyle.

We can, however, stop this foolishness. The Community General Plan Initiative will require that road improvements be built at the same time as the new developments. Faced with this requirement, developers will see the wisdom of building where roads can handle the added traffic. Let’s save Monterey County. Support the Community General Plan Initiative. —Marit Evans | Salinas

ANTI-SPRAWLERS ARE PEOPLE TOO

Many hours of effort have gone into the creation of a plan that will serve the needs of average residents and responsible businesses. The result is called the Community General Plan Initiative.

While our group has labored to develop this plan, we have held numerous public meetings and have worked closely with professionals in the planning, legal and business fields. It is very sad to hear and read the untrue and sometimes vicious rhetoric that is being hurled at the Initiative and those of us who, with no ulterior motives, are working toward helping this county survive the undue pressures of those whose greed is motivating their efforts.   

Those whose names and organizations are listed as supporters of GPU 4 pretty much speak for themselves when one realizes what most of them stand to gain—a plan for the moneyed people. —Carolyn Anderson | Royal Oaks