Get ready for real electrical shortages Buckeyes will lose

I can easily understand if you are dismayed because of the pending price increase in your electric bill.

However, if you were surprised, you haven’t been paying attention. When you take dependable, economical coal generators offline, and reduce the fuel supply for natural gas generators you are driving up the cost of producing electricity, as well as reducing the stability of the electrical grid.

It won’t take much more of this action to force shortages and rolling blackouts.

All the wind and solar that you can produce will be woefully insufficient to supply any significant amount of electricity, compared to total demand. If you insist on reducing your dependence on coal and natural gas for power generation, we will soon experience real electrical shortages, at which point a price increase in our electric bill will be among the least of our worries.

Darryl Hiestand, Lancaster

When I taught Human Biology to non-science majors, I encouraged the students to identify specific human biology topics/questions of interest.

As my Ohio State University colleague Steve Rissing pointed out in the March 26 Dispatch “Bill would result in more boring classes,” this helped avoid boredom while providing factual information of interest

and relevant to classes of predominantly young adults.

However, if the “Ohio Higher Education Enhancement Act” Senate Bill 83 is passed that would require faculty to “allow and encourage students to reach their own conclusions about all controversial issues” it seems some questions I was asked would now have to be ignored.

There is a factual explanation for: Why does the world spin when you’re drunk?

There are scientific data that address: Does genetics determine intelligence? But only limited data for: Is there a benefit from circumcision, elective surgery/ mutilation performed without the patient’s consent? and no definitive answer to: Is the morning after pill abortion or contraception?

Maybe I’m wrong, but won’t OSU students lose if such “controversial issues” must be avoided?

John Reeve, Ohio State University Emeritus Professor of Microbiology, Powell

EKATERINA ANISIMOVA/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES The UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change distilled six landmark reports totaling 10,000 pages prepared by more than 1,000 scientists over the last six years.