‘El País Esta Vivo’
Al editor:
Desde España estámos mirando y no sólo es espantoso, es también contagioso. Aquí la extrema derecho, PP y Vox, sigue subiendo y siguen descaradamente el modelo Trump, sembrando odio y mentiras.
El planeta es muy pequeño y necesitamos urgentemente una transición ecológica y la agenda 2030. El foco ahora es echar a Trump de la Casa Blanca, es impensable que salga reelegido porque no sería la caída al precipicio de los EEUU sino de todo el planeta.
Estoy orgulloso de los estadounidenses que salen a la calle a mostrar su furia contra lo intolerable, el país esta vivo y en el fondo, en su corazón, todavía es un gran país que puede salvarse del Trumpismo y la nueva extrema derecha.
También estoy orgulloso de vuestro periodismo independiente, el mejor antídoto contra los tweets del déspota. El estadounidense medio en su cotidianidad y expresando su rabia y su poder salvará ese maravilloso país. No lo dudes.
Soñamos con un paseo por las dunas ¡benditas ostras!
Nacho Trives
Hoyos, Extremadura
‘Your Country Is Alive’
To the editor:
We are watching, from Spain, and what we see is not only frightening, it is contagious. Here, the extreme right, the Partido Popular and Vox, continue to rise, shamelessly following the Trump model, sowing hate and lies.
The planet is very small and we urgently need an ecological transformation and an agenda for 2030. The focus now must be to remove Trump from the White House. It is unthinkable that he be re-elected, as that would mean going over a cliff, not only for the U.S. but for the entire planet.
I am proud of the people of the U.S. who are out on the streets showing their rage against the intolerable. Your country is alive, and deep down, in its heart, it is still a great country that can save itself from Trumpism and the new extreme right.
I am also proud of your independent journalism, the best antidote against a tyrant’s tweets. Everyday Americans from all walks, expressing their rage and their power, is what will save your marvelous country. Do not doubt it.
We dream of a walk in those dunes, and those blessed oysters!
Nacho Trives
Hoyos, Extremadura (Spain)
[translated by Teresa Parker]
Science Has Suffered
To the editor:
It was good to see Sophie Ruehr’s two recent articles on the decline of science support at the National Seashore [May 7 and June 4 editions].
Peer-reviewed science is cumulative. In apparent contrast with politics, it’s an accumulation of knowledge, as well as the uncertainties around that knowledge, of the physical and biological world. Sustaining that process in our microcosm, as everywhere, requires continuity of effort, building on the work of predecessors and carrying their findings forward.
Given my time as a National Park Service scientist for many years, it’s been painful to hear of the loss of science support. As noted by former Supt. Maria Burks, the park’s science program expanded greatly from a single on-site scientist in the early 1980s (me) to a thriving community of NPS researchers, university collaborators, and research institutions by the mid-1990s. The Seashore was selected in an intense national competition to become the prototype park for Eastern U.S. research and monitoring of coastal ecosystems. New positions were created in aquatic ecology, hydrology, plant ecology, wildlife biology, coastal geology, geographic information systems, and data management. The lab expanded its on-site analysis of water and sediment quality and microbiology. Collaborations with New England universities and internships for their students were funded.
That resident science capability has seriously suffered from systemwide cuts to NPS funding; research and monitoring activities have contracted with the departure of scientific staff whose positions remain unfilled. I was very sad to hear of the suspension of the Parks as Classrooms environmental education program under the able leadership of Barbara Dougan. It taught local Cape students about local Cape ecosystems, threats and solutions, as well as the process of doing science.
Let’s hope that a new administration in Washington will bring us back to the 21st century.
John Portnoy
Wellfleet
Treasured Portraits
To the editor:
Re: “A Graduation in Quarantine” (June 4, page B2). What an uplifting article! It made my day to read about the portraits Amy Kandall created for her Nauset High students. A supreme example of the thoughtfulness and generosity that is all around us.
I feel certain that those graduates will treasure their portraits all of their lives.
Bob Rice
Brewster
Reconsider the Rules
To the editor:
For a town that survives almost solely on the tourist trade, Provincetown administrators are doing everything they can to discourage people from coming to our formerly welcoming community by restricting parking and making unneeded mandatory mask rules.
How are any businesses supposed to survive in an atmosphere like that? There needs to be some clear and sensible reconsideration of these edicts.
I walk every day on Commercial Street from my home on Pearl Street to the West End parking lot and back, and so far this year I have not encountered one instance when social distancing would be a problem at any time of day.
You can buy a takeout meal, but if you’re a visitor for the day, where do you eat it? If you sit on a bench or the curb you have to remove your mask to eat.
It’s clear that the people who make the rules do not see what is actually happening. We need some rethinking.
Channing Wilroy
Provincetown
