RNC was right to celebrate the citizenship ceremony

Wonderful rite

Regarding “Trump’s naturalization ceremony is a new low,” (A15, Aug. 27): I’m sorry that Monica Rhor feels the way she does about the ceremony shown at the Republican National Convention. With a diverse group of grateful new citizens, the ceremony was a wonderful rite that all of us need to witness. The RNC and President Donald Trump are to be commended for elevating the ceremony to a high level on prime time.

Jack Gibbs, Hempstead

Hurricane Laura

Regarding “Houston skirts hit, but outages, high wind still a threat,” (A1, Aug. 27): Houston, and indeed most of Southeast Texas, escaped the full fury of Laura, one of the most potentially dangerous storms of this new century. I fear that this good fortune will have a particularly dangerous, even deadly, consequence in the future. When the next deadly hurricane looms, as it surely will, I’m afraid that thousands of Southeast Texas residents will be loathe to leave before the storm strikes. They’ll remember the mostly benign effects of Laura on the area. And that might be the worst thing they could possibly do.

Ted Shaw, Cypress

How sadly fitting that Houston Climate Week had to be postponed because of Hurricane Laura, our 13th named storm so far in 2020. We have already broken records this year for increased storm activity, demonstrating that climate change continues to lead to more extreme weather. We urgently need to lower our greenhouse gas emissions. Implementing a carbon fee and dividend policy would do just that, resulting in up to a 40 percent decrease in greenhouse gas emissions in only 12 years. The bipartisan, business-friendly Energy Innovation and Carbon Dividend Act now has 82 cosponsors in the House of Representatives, but not a single representative from Houston has signed on. If we don’t get serious about national climate legislation, our lives here in Houston will continue to be threatened by increasingly extreme weather every year.

John Sigren, Citizens’ Climate Lobby