Dear Editor,
I thought the Laguna Beach Independent October 29, 2010 article “Arts’ Advocate Pushes Oil Agenda” criticisizing Anita Mangels regrettable. Whenever I see Anita on TV or hear her on the radio, I always respond in the same way “Boy, is she good”.
Anita Mangels has had a long history of public service in Laguna Beach years ago serving with me on the Board of the Laguna Canyon Conservancy. After the Festival of Arts was saved, its Directors decided to franchise the Pageant of Masters and make some real money. Anita ran for the Festival of Arts board and the new Directors elected her President, and later Treasurer. She served with distinction keeping the Pageant a unique Laguna Beach event.
Elections are supposed to include a respectful hearing of arguments from both sides. The article’s insinuation that nobody, and certainly no environmentalist, could possibly vote yes on California proposition 23 is particularly insulting.
Proposition 23 “would suspend the state’s landmark climate-change law.” Are there any good reasons to vote yes on proposition 23? How about unemployment is high, the economy is weak, businesses is already being driven out of the state. So a reasonable citizen might vote against taking steps to make it even more expensive to do business in California. In addition, there has been no global warming since 1998 which being a global concern, California by itself would have zero impact on global emissions, and zero impact on the world’s temperature.
I am a proud environmentalist, but I am interested in human beings enjoying a higher quality of life including enjoying the beauty and tranquility of the open space. I have fought many battles alongside environmentalists who do not like people and consider extracting minerals from the earth to be sacrilegious. Human beings exhale carbon dioxide when they breathe; CO2 is natural.
I have not used plastic grocery bags for many years, but I resent the City enacting laws making that mandatory. I like my car and being able to drive to San Clemente to visit my grandchildren. Nuclear power, the ocean’s seal level, Spain’s report on their green economy would all seem to provide information if the concern was quality of life for human beings. Rather, what we see with the “state’s landmark climate-change law” is typical: the answer to every problem or potential problem is to increase the power and scope the government and to diminish the freedom and liberty of the people.
Yours truly,
Gene Felder
Laguna Beach
