HB6 saves Ohio from not-so-clean wind

Ohio’s best wind resources are Iowa’s worst. So why build thousands of massive 600-650-ft. wind turbines in northwest Ohio? It’s all about the subsidies. Wind turbines aren’t green by any stretch of the imagination, although corporations have spent millions in Ohio to convince the public otherwise. Wind turbines produce energy that is intermittent and unpredictable. They must be backed up by fossil fuels in new “peaker plants.”

Why would Ohio build inefficiency and extra air pollution into our grid? Follow the money in subsidies. Turbines require hundreds of gallons of oil laden with PCB’S. Do these turbines leak oil or crash to the ground? Absolutely. Do these turbines ever catch on fire? Yes, and the Pcb-laden oil burns with the neodymium magnets to release a highly cancerous toxic cloud.

Estimates put the tear-down cost of a single modern wind turbine at over $200,000. The blades are a fiberglass composite which isn't recyclable and can't be sold. Consequently, 47 million tons of unsustainable blade waste could be added to the world’s landfills within the next few decades.

Even if we buried an area of Ohio about the size of Rhode Island in industrial wind generators, they still would not produce the consistent, robust energy that our two nuclear facilities make. In 2013 Ohio had an extended polar vortex during which natural gas pipelines could not keep up. What saved the day in 2013 and kept us all from freezing in northern Ohio? It was our two nuclear plants.

The Ohio Senate should do the right thing for Ohio and pass H.B. 6 to save our nuclear facilities, give local communities a voice in allowing wind development and level the playing field of subsidies for wind and nuclear.

Deb Hay, Bellevue

BWC isn't really ending use of addictive opiates

A June 1 Dispatch Business story would have readers believe the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation no longer will permit the prescribing of Oxycontin or a generic form of this drug.

The article reports on a new pain relief medication, Xtampza ER, as a permitted substitute, but fails to note this new drug is in fact a generic form of a sustainedrelease tablet of oxycodone.

Given the enormous problems with prescribed narcotic pain medication as an early pathway to the use of heroin, fentanyl and other possibly fatal illegal drugs that take lives and ruin the lives of others, it is important to be clear and do your own research before publishing such an article.

My research was easy; it took 5 minutes with my ipad. Nancy Mily, Columbus

Mueller report provides plenty of facts on Trump misdeeds

If Brian Steyer (Tuesday letter) wants facts without emotion, I suggest he get and read a copy of the Mueller Report, which is readily available from internet sources.

It is a very clear description of both Russian interference in the 2016 election and various ways our president has tried to impede the whole investigation. This crime is called obstruction of justice.

For me, the worst is the fact that our president has steadfastly refused to even acknowledge that election interference by Russia even happened. So of course he has not done anything about defending our future elections. This seems to me to be surrendering to an invading force.

Charles Hoben, Reynoldsburg

America should confront China's religious suppression

On June 4, Muslims in central Ohio celebrated the Eid-fitra, the end of Ramadan — a month of fasting — with congregation prayers at different venues.

But millions of Uighur Muslims in China and other people of faith do not have the freedom American Muslims enjoy to practice their own religion freely and celebrate Eid-al-fitra.

Our thoughts and prayers are with the Muslim Uighurs in China who are facing unprecedented oppression, which includes concentration camps, electronic surveillance and persecution. In fact, the Chinese communists are holding millions of Uighur Muslims in internment camps. This is the largest incarceration of people because of their religion since the Nazis rounded up Jews in World War II, according to the New York Times. Moreover, Uighur Muslims are forced to consume alcohol and pork products, which are prohibited under Islam.

America should be as tough on China for its abuses of freedom of religion and human rights as with its predatory trade practices. Strong measures are needed, including forceful statements by our elected officials and targeted sanctions and travel bans against perpetrators of the suppression of freedom to worship in China.

Ali Mohamed, Lewis Center

Let both sides be investigated fairly

In response to Mark Williams' Tuesday letter, “Mueller Report is clear; Congress must act”: If Congress decides to impeach the president, let the facts take us where they may. That said, Congress and/or the Department of Justice also should investigate Hillary Clinton for possible criminal acts committed while she was Secretary of State, as well as present and past FBI and CIA officials involved with filing the tainted FISA warrant and other possible criminal acts that led to the Mueller investigation in the first place — and let the facts take us where they may.

As Clinton recently stated, “No one is above the law.” Robert Brooks, Dublin

Why should home seller pay agent for buyer?

I thank The Dispatch for the recent Washington Post Writers Group column that brought to light the unfair commission structure of houses for sale on multiple listing services. It is so unreasonable that a seller should pay the buyer's agent who has negotiated against him or her.

We are selling our house FSBO (for sale by owner) and advertise 1% (approximately $3,000-$4,000) to the buyer's agent.

We have been bombarded with calls and visits from real estate agents asserting we ought pay 3%-6%. We can't afford to give away $11,000 to $23,000. Please keep the public informed of this important issue. And we urge everyone to please give FSBO houses an equal chance.

K.A. Flanagan, Grandview Heights

Trade war with Mexico won't solve any problems

In his Friday letter, Michael Holman demands tariffs against Mexico because the Mexican government won’t stop the flow of illegal immigrants and

drugs into the United States. Holman’s arguments are premised on two fallacies, one historic and the other economic.

Imposing tariffs on Mexico will have no effect on the drug problem in America. No nation has ever been able to stop the cultivation of drugs within its borders or their importation from other counties. The United States has been fighting the war on drugs for 50 years and drug use has grown exponentially in that time.

In today’s world economy, tariffs have a limited value and Mexico is an important trading partner with the United States. Americans should remember that no one wins a trade war; consumers lose them.

Dick Graham, Worthington

Ohio lawmakers are stuck on energy of the past

Wednesday's news included a collection of reporting on energy that was interesting in light of House Bill 6, under consideration in the Ohio Senate. First there was the Associated Press article "Facebook to build giant solar farm in Texas" in The Dispatch. On the same day, CNN reported, "America's renewable energy capacity is now greater than coal." Then there was the Dispatch story "Senate committee faces deadline on nuclear bailout bill" which stated, "...the legislation, which passed the House last month, would gut the state's renewable energy and energy-efficiency standards. It would also support two coal-fired power plants..."

So, while the rest of the country and much of the world marches forward in pursuit of renewable energy, Ohio legislators continue to defend old technologies that grip our state in the past instead of moving us into the future.

Mark Corna, Powell