By Bob Wolff Santa Monica
It is sad when a column is written on an important subject — “emissions and clean air” — and the writer just puts forth heat and political cant (“Emissions guidelines and double standards,” Dec. 10).
Mr. Gregory sheds no light on the problems he puts forth, but instead throws out terms such as “leftist environmentalists.” He is not looking for a discourse, but is sadly showing his inability to discuss a problem.
For his information, environmentalists come from across the political spectrum; it is much too important a subject to just be left to the “leftists”; some evangelical ministers are now lending their support to the environmental cause.
It is sad, Mr. Gregory, that you did not use the column given to you for some valuable purpose instead of low-level political diatribe.
You might have looked at your own example of 19th Century England and the businesses there obtaining new laws enabling them to pollute the air and thus increase profits rather than doing something for the “common good” and still increase profits. You would see that such corporate greed two centuries later is one of the contributors to our present air problem. Yes, part of the solution has been to attack the problem with both federal and state laws and regulations, but have the companies again not brought it upon themselves.
You, Mr. Gregory, and those who follow your brand of “thinking” see the solutions forced on the people as the problem, rather than seeing the problem “air pollution” as the one that has brought about double sets of guidelines.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on December 24, 2007. Read the original PDF.