An aging coal plant

The deadline for the Nixon Coal Plant should be 2029, and not extend beyond that year. Delaying the plant’s retirement will increase the potential for greater coal-generated pollution, an issue along the Colorado Front Range, especially since it contributes to and exacerbates respiratory-related illnesses, e.g., asthma and heart disease. I believe Colorado Springs needs to support Colorado’s Clean Energy Plan goals, which include increasing the use of renewable energy options instead of coal.

The Nixon Coal Plant is decades old and is increasingly expensive to manage. Coal is not only one of the dirtiest energy sources, but also one of the most expensive, which may increase monthly bills for the citizens of Colorado Springs. I urge the city to invest more in solar, wind and battery storage which has demonstrated to be less expensive and more reliable sources of energy in Colorado.

Colorado Springs needs an environmental vision for the city – one that encompasses the future of its citizens, including children and the elderly. Maintaining a coal plant beyond 2029, does not make sense. It’s time for the city to promote clean air and fair and predictable bills, instead of the rising costs of an aging coal plant. Colorado Springs City Council, please retire the Nixon Coal plant in 2029, and seek new and healthier solutions for the city and El Paso County!

Gary Marx

Colorado Springs

A remarkable life

Over the years I have written many letters to the editor related to many different subjects; a few have been published in the Gazette but never one that related to an obituary. I am a dinosaur, being 85 years old, I have traveled to every continent except the Antarctic via the United States Military, working for Untied Stated Government in the Far East and traveling as a tourist as much as my limited resources would allow. As such I had felt I have led a very interesting life.

That was until I read the obituary of Jo Ann Harrison in the Gazette of January 17th; her life almost read like a well-written book. I too use to Fly On Pan Am Airlines in the early years when food was served on glass plates. I remember talking to a lot of Flight Attendants and most of them were registered nurses back then.

When you summarize all the different things this lady did with her life, some of which were groundbreaking first, she was truly a very special person whom I know will be missed by her family. When a person reads an obituary like this, it makes you wonder, what did I do with my life?

Nathaneil J. Gilmore III

Colorado Springs

Dignity of the office of President

No one but Maria Corina Machado knows what motivated her to offer President Donald Trump her Nobel Peace Prize hardware, but it smells of an attempt at bribery to regain a foothold in the Venezuela power struggle.

And Trump’s acceptance might have been an innocent act void of any inappropriate consideration of quid pro quo. But I ask the question if, over the 125 years since the establishment of the most prestigious of international awards, would any other American president have even considered accepting a symbol of someone else’s achievements? I think not, because they might have considered such an acceptance to be demeaning and damaging to the dignity of the office of the president, if not bordering on a conflict of interest.

There has been “lingering uncertainty” whether the actual medal or a replica was given to Trump – the 2021 medal awarded to Dmitry Muratov was sold at auction for over 100 million dollars in 2022. But the value it holds in Trump’s eyes would be most telling; the Mayo Clinic website lists a score of symptoms of a narcissistic personality disorder, and the list reads like a Trump bio. Specifically, two of the symptoms are: “Expect to be recognized as superior even without achievements”, and “Have an unreasonably high sense of self-importance and require constant, excessive admiration”.

It sometimes feels like our president is more often concerned about his legacy than the dignity of the office that he swore to serve.

Ken Krall

Colorado Springs

Alliances really do matter

There is talk coming from the White House suggesting the United States. should take over Greenland. This is a terrible idea for multiple reasons. First, the people of Greenland don’t want to be ruled by us. Second, we don’t need it for the security of the United States as we currently have a military base there and have been told we can expand it if we feel the need. Third, taking Greenland from Denmark would violate our compact with NATO as we would be going to war with a fellow NATO member which would destroy one of the most successful alliances in history.

Those who think that the United States is so powerful that it doesn’t need alliances or friends in the world would do well to consider a lesson from history. In 1914, the British Empire was the largest and most powerful empire the world had ever seen. Then World War I broke out. By 1917, Britain was on the verge of losing the war and probably would have but for the help from America.

Alliances and friendly relations with other countries matter, even for the United States.

Jeff Smith

Colorado Springs