Oil and gas strike a chord
Don’t speak for Kaktovik
Regarding “Testing for Arctic oil is destroying way of life,” (A15, March 7): Your opinion piece by Nauri Toler regarding Arctic oil struck a chord with me, but probably not for the reasons you would expect.
I was born and raised in the Arctic in the middle of the area she references. My community of Kaktovik has felt the impacts of oil and gas development here. I smile every night when my home is warm and every morning when I flush the toilet. Our children can play at our school playground and not attend boarding schools like my parents did.
These are first-world conveniences that most people in America take for granted, yet have only been afforded to our Arctic communities as a result of oil development.
The Arctic National Wildlife Refuge is not just owned by the government. There is private land owned by the Kaktovikmiut, my people, living in the middle of this nonsense, and they deserve every right to decide what to do on their own land.
Everyone talks about polar bears and caribou, but is anyone concerned with the humans? Do they have rights? The people of Kaktovik should be the ones deciding if seismic testing in their backyard is OK. They are the ones who should weigh the risk-reward scenario.
It’s unfortunate the ANWR debate has become the poster for environmentalists. This is not a pristine wilderness — our people have walked this land for generations. No one should speak for the people of Kaktovik without our permission. Charles Lampe, Kaktovik, Alaska
Protect coral reefs
Regarding “Sanctuary protections put oil over coral,” (A1, March 15): This is just the latest effort by the oil and gas industry to have its cake and eat it too when it comes to our public Gulf of Mexico offshore oceans. There is no balance since the sanctuary’s creation was originally delayed 20 years because of oil and gas opposition.
We need to do what’s best for the our Flower Garden Banks National Marine Sanctuary and not oil and gas pocketbooks! Brandt Mannchen, Humble
Pure delight
Regarding “Kids are the stars at these farmers markets,” (D4, March 12): I found pure delight, among the Chronicle’s usual doom and gloom, in Preview Houston.
One vendor offers enticing selections, some of which are “free of common allergens,” while another provides “consumables, wellness products, apothecary and pet items.” Importantly, children avail themselves of hands-on projects from potting the plant of choice, in a one-of-a-kind container, to decorating sacks with stamps and markers — the bags offered by Lunches of Love for meal deliveries.
It’s heartwarming to know that such farmers markets focus on the process of children’s creating, rather than on the end product. Rosemary Mackin, Houston