Climate change, presidential election, education and diversity, women's sports coverage, light rail, peanut allergies

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As the presidential election draws closer, there are many opinions about Donald Trump and his questionable character and ethics, including voting for him as the “lesser of two evils.”

Very few, if any, comments and letters mention the most important issue of our time, one that should leave no doubt about the “lesser of two evils.” That problem is climate change. Trump is campaigning to open more land to drilling. Need I say more?

I find it ironic that the news is dominated by two types of information: weather events directly attributed to climate change and Trump's legal woes (of which there are many).

If ever in our history there was a time to vote on a single issue, this is it. We have reached the precipice of climate change and we need leadership in all facets of government prepared to make the difficult decisions necessary to mitigate climate change. It is clear that Trump will not do this.

Nancy Hassett, Big Lake, Minn.

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I have been inundated with emails from President Joe Biden, Senator Amy Klobuchar and many others asking for donations. They ask for small amounts, from 10 to 100 dollars. I give what I can. Then I read about Trump's meeting with oil executives and his promise to expand oil and gas drilling, eliminate clean energy programs and any clean energy infrastructure improvements . For these efforts, he wants the leaders of the oil sector to give him a billion dollars.

So I'm sitting there giving my $20 or $50 or maybe even $100 and it all seems so pointless. How can we, average citizens, compete with the super-rich who are ready and willing to spend millions and millions to achieve their ends? Citizens United sounds the death knell for fair democracy. May God help us all.

Michael D. Thomsen, St. Paul

EDUCATION

Diversity improves our learning experience

In a letter to the editor on May 31, a writer asked if anyone thought a mass influx of non-English or mediocre English-speaking students would improve our children's education. My answer, as a parent of three current and former Minneapolis Public Schools students, is a resounding yes.

My children have gained a much broader, inclusive and empathetic view of the world by attending diverse schools. Do I wish schools had more funding to support students who are English learners and others with special needs? And also a resounding yes. Through their positive experiences, my children learned a crucial life lesson that the writer did not: xenophobia and racism are never the answer.

Erin Burns, Minneapolis

WOMEN'S SPORTS COVERAGE

When will these teams get the respect they deserve?

Thursday's home opener for the Minnesota Aurora women's soccer team was fantastic. The team played with precision, great teamwork and skill – winning 7-0. The passes were executed well, the goals were all skillfully won and the defense played strong. But the Sports section's coverage focused entirely on the DJ, who admitted to being distracted by texts from the Timberwolves game (“Aurora dances her way to home opener victory,” May 31) . Did the Star Tribune forget to send a sports reporter to the Aurora game? Oh, come on! When will women's sport be treated with the respect it deserves? Star Tribune, you can do better than that!

Debbi Jo Dieter, Hopkins

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The best women's hockey players in the world deserve better coverage. Thank goodness there's a bar of their own. It was opened this year by Jillian Hiscock to showcase women's sports. It was the only place I knew where I could watch the Professional Women's Hockey League's (PWHL) championship-clinching game in its first season. I called the day of the game and Mary very pleasantly assured me that would be the case. It was only available on YouTube according to the Star Tribune sports listing.

Local media were on hand at A Bar of Their Own to gather fan reactions. This game needed better national, state and local coverage. The Minnesota Timberwolves have received massive coverage from print, radio and television media. There has been a lot less media coverage on this amazing PWHL playoff story. Thank you, A Bar of Their Own, for opening a place dedicated to women's sport. We so enjoyed seeing our female athletes receive the prestigious Walter Cup for the first time. Chants of “Minnesota,” “We want the Cup” and “We have the Cup” echoed throughout the well-behaved and enthusiastic crowd.

Too bad more people couldn't see this game. This needs to change. The PWHL is a movement. I imagine this league will continue to thrive and these world-class athletes will receive proper media coverage in the future.

Gordon Hayes, Eagan

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In the early days of feminism, there were signs that said, “We will have achieved true equality when a mediocre woman can go as far as a mediocre man.” »

Recent local sporting events lead me to rephrase this observation as follows: “We will have achieved true equality when a winning women's team can receive as much media coverage as a losing men's team.” »

Gaynell Schandel, Arden Hills

METRO TRANSPORT

I give the tram another try

Our tram could be back. Recently, I took the Blue Line from Minneapolis-St. From Paul International Airport's Lindbergh Terminal to downtown Minneapolis (25 minutes from Nicollet Mall Station). It was around 2 p.m. on a weekday. The wait time was reasonable (8 minutes). The car was clean. The riders behaved well. It is important to note that two uniformed security guards roamed the platform at most stations, including Lake Street. I hadn't taken the tram for a while for safety reasons. I'm glad I tried again. I will do it again. Congratulations to Metro Transit for adding security personnel.

Jack Moore, Minneapolis

PEANUT ALLERGIES

Good news and hope for joyful food

My grandchildren have informed me that peanut products are not allowed in schools or at public events because there could be someone so sensitive to these products that it would cause serious reactions, or even death. Peanut butter has been the staple of my life for 76 years, growing up in a frugal family of eight, and I rarely go a day without it. Peanut butter sandwiches were the lunch of all my school years and beyond, which is now probably a painful sight compared to the enormous deli sandwiches of today. I've tried all the other nut butters, but peanut butter remains my favorite, good with almost everything: toast, pancakes, smoothies, dips, sauces, etc.

Thank goodness there may be hope for reducing peanut allergy (“Babies Exposed to Peanuts Less Likely to Be Allergic Years Later,” May 30). Health advisers warned us a few years ago that peanuts caused cancer and were best avoided; then, in 2000, they advised allowing peanut products only after the age of three. More recently, in 2017, exposure to peanut products was recommended between 4 and 6 months of age to minimize subsequent allergies, and we are now seeing positive results.

At scout camp years ago, a camp counselor did a routine skit about a wad of peanut butter stuck to the roof of his mouth, which was hilarious and left us all in fits of laughter. Hopefully the scourge of peanut allergies will also have a happy ending to advance this precious food of joy.

Michael Tillemans, Minneapolis