READERS WRITE
Gov. Cuomo can do more on climate
In his State of the State
address this month, Gov.
Andrew Cuomo made a
commitment to reducing New
York’s greenhouse gas emissions
and helping to fight the impacts
of global climate change.
Moving New York away from
fossil fuel dependence is the right
thing to do and I applaud the
governor’s general commitment.
However, it is critical that
goals be made concrete and
executable. To do that, our state
should pass and implement
the Climate and Community
Protection Act (CCPA). CCPA
has already passed in the New
York state Assembly and state
Senate. It awaits Gov. Cuomo’s
signature.
The CCPA would move us
toward a fully renewable, clean
energy economy. It would assure
that ‘green’ energy jobs are good
jobs for New Yorkers, and invest
in lower income and coastal
communities at highest risk
from climate change as seas and
temperatures rise.
Of course the impact of the
CCPA will be global, as New
York helps to reduce climate
risks to agricultural areas, areas
that experience heat waves, and
coastal regions.
From my childhood in Maine
enjoying Acadia National Park
to my adulthood in New York
enjoying Jamaica Bay Wildlife
Refuge, I have taken individual
action to protect Nature and
reduce my ‘carbon footprint.’
As important as my individual
actions may be, I have come
to see that the Earth requires
actions at a much larger scale,
reshaping our collective energy
usage and economy.
That is why I strongly urge
Gov. Cuomo to sign the CCPA.
Jane Bradshaw
Kew Gardens
A GREEN DEBATE
Marijuana possessed in public and smoked in public
for recreation is neither safe for driving nor for secondhand
smoke exposure for non-users. Further, cannabis
is not a safe drug for general private recreational use, in
view of the body of toxicological effects.
Marijuana impairs a person’s ability to drive
an automobile safely similarly with alcohol. This is
because large numbers of cannabinoid receptors are
in the basal ganglia and cerebellum, which function
in motor control, and are also localized in the frontal
cortex where binding of delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol
(THC), the major ingredient, distorts the sense of time.
Plus, nearly 50 percent of regular marijuana users
drink while using marijuana, which causes an additive
deterioration in driving ability.
Medicinal marijuana, devoid of THC, but containing
CBD, or cannabidiol, has only been shown in limited
studies to have analgesic properties; certainly no
breakthrough cures of any medical disorders are
associated with any forms of cannabis.
In terms of pulmonary effects, the toxic chemical
components of both marijuana and tobacco smoke
are similar, with ammonia, benzene, toluene, and
naphthalene levels in marijuana exceeding those in
tobacco smoke.
Research has shown evidence of bronchial irritation,
inflammation and narrowing, reduced macrophage
and ciliary cleansing mechanisms, and emphysema.
Further, as with alcohol, marijuana is associated
with immunosuppression via cannabinoid receptors
on spleen cells and lymphocytes, rendering persons
susceptible to infectious diseases and cancer.The whole
problem of the deleterious effects of second-hand smoke
is thus widened with public marijuana smoking.
The argument to decriminalize marijuana, and
basically legalize pot smoking de facto, if not de jure,
on the grounds of its commonality with alcohol and
tobacco, is absolutely irrational in view of the damning
evidence of the latter products upon users and nonusers
in one way or another, from impaired health to
social costs to the family and economy.
If anything, the most logical conclusion is to ban
alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana, not to legalize toxins.
As for medicinal uses of marijuana, other drugs are
available for the therapeutic use in these symptoms and
conditions.
The bottom line, as Gov. Andrew Cuomo stated, is
tax revenue from a legal marijuana industry. What
has Cuomo been smoking to impair his cognitive
functioning?
Joseph N. Manago
Briarwood
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