Aurora police mishandle protests by provoking violence
Re: “Thousands rally, urge justice for Aurora’s Elijah McClain,” June 28 news story
After reading about the events at the public protest in Aurora, I had to ask myself, “Have the police learned nothing?”
The minute you place “lines of dozens of officers” and “multiple officers in full riot gear” at a peaceful demonstration, there will be problems.
The first image I saw showing the officers standing and watching raised my ire. I wasn’t even there. Then, add a small percentage of people who are pushed to the edge by this same view of aggressive-appearing lines of officers and you have a recipe for violence.
If the officers had backed down, dressed differently and joined participation with those in attendance, there would have been an entirely different outcome.
Denver learned, but apparently Aurora was not paying attention. Shame on the police force and interim Police Chief Vanessa Wilson. I think they were just itchin’ for a fight.
Mariann Storck, Wheat Ridge
Climate goals are not ambitious enough
Re: “Polis must get Colorado on track to meet climate goals,” July 6 commentary
Bravo to Gov. Jared Polis for setting high goals for carbon reduction, but as this article shows, goals and regulation are not enough to meet the objective. Regulations can be fudged, overlooked and adjusted.
Clearly, Suncor is unmoved by the $9 million in fines it received this year, or else it would stop violating. Fossil fuels are still profitable.
State governments and the federal government should yoke the most powerful force for change known — free markets. If we increase the cost of fossil fuel production, by placing a fee per ton of carbon, we will create price signals to the market to find cheaper alternatives, like renewable energy.
As fossil fuel consumption drops, air quality in neighborhoods surrounding Suncor will improve, and improve the community itself.
Fossil fuels are a blight on the country and especially poor neighborhoods, which tend to absorb pollution’s worst effects.
Greg Winchell, Denver
There is nothing more threatening to our nation’s well-being than the changes we humans are making to our climate. Already our local weather grows hotter, dryer, and less like the Colorado of the past.
Ean Thomas Tafoya and Jeremy Nichols make good points that the changing climate hurts those who are poor and of color first and hard. But I say to all those who are used to ignoring the sufferings of poorer folk: watch out, you are not far behind. When smoke chokes the city, when there is no water for lawns, when folks from hotter places, say Phoenix, gather at our border, we all will suffer.
Tafoya and Nichols rightly raise concerns that we are not on track to meet our goals of reducing our additions to the climate chaos we impose on others and even ourselves. Yet, they fail to mention that if we were to work to meet the governor’s objectives aggressively, we would merely be slightly ahead of where everyone everywhere in the world needs to be. Our state’s goals put us slightly above average. And we are rich enough and smart enough to be better than average; Colorado should lead.
Jeff Neuman-Lee, Denver
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