We’re causing earth’s sixth mass extinction

If Leonardo Da Vinci were alive today, he would be the first to declare that our earth is in peril. An insatiable learner, he studied everything he could see. Why can’t we all be learners and observers of the goings on in our natural environment? The truths that we live by must stand on firmer ground than believing the opinions of our favorite politician or our neighbor.

We should learn about the truths of the natural world from the research and observations of scientists who study the natural world. There is now much scientific evidence showing our damaging effects on earth’s ecosystems, effects we can work to change and reverse. If we ignore these warnings it will, at the least, lead to the destruction of human civilization. The rapid and violent changes in our climate show us that many species will go extinct, probably including mankind. Earth has experienced five massive extinctions due to climate change. Should we, through our ignorance, continue to cause the sixth?

Lynn Rideout

Milford, PA

Cold enough for you?

It was 15 below zero the morning of January 31.

Now what if you’re a kitten and some brute has taken you out to the countryside, opened the door and tossed you out into the freezing cold wilderness? There actually are people who do exactly this.  Many people.  I know because I’ve seen these kitties by the side of the road and rescued those I could.  Our Penny, now seven years old, was found after a week in an open barn—no food, no heat, -10 at night—dumped in the midst of a January blizzard.  Her sister was found up the road, stuck in deep snow, rescued by a kind neighbor.

On Valentine’s Day, someone dumped a litter of kittens in the middle of Pond Eddy. We were able to rescue one—Tommy—now adjusting to “The Good Life” in my warm home, but the others are still out in the bitter cold, lost and hungry. We’re trying to find them and feed them.

Evidently, for some, this is a form of “cheap birth control.” Don’t bother spaying the mother cat—just dump the kittens on one of the coldest days of the year and the problem will “take care of itself.”

It’s against the law to abandon a pet, but it’s not easy to catch the cruel, shameless abandoners who operate under cover of darkness.

Surely we need more low-cost spay/neuter programs. My short-sighted town of Lumberland failed to sign on to the program; the towns that do sign on have significantly fewer stray kitties.

The legislature could do something about this—should do something.

I’m waiting...

Joan Rosenfelt

Pond Eddy, NY  12770