Letters

2025, his media broadcast the message, his donors unsheathe their checkbooks.

Surely the honorable Mr. King has some thoughts on these proposed alterations to the government he helped to preserve? Or on the character of some of those he served with? Or on the unusual tactics of Tommy Tuberville, Marjorie

Taylor Greene or Jim Jordan? Mr. King must feel something about marionettes like George Santos replacing serious public servants like himself. Mr. King’s service is recent and thus still relevant, but it will become less so with time. The time to speak, to advise, is now.

BrIAN KELLY Rockville Centre

Protect chimps — and unborn babies

To the Editor: re randi Kreiss’s column last week, “Chimps face N.Y. court test of personhood” (reprised from Jun 11-17, 2015): I usually don’t agree with randi, because we have different political outlooks and worldviews, but this time I do, because cruelty is morally wrong. There are exceptions such as war, but those are rare.

Her quote from Jane Goodall and reference to chimpanzees’ similar DNA were poignant. Why, then, don’t we all extend the same concern to creatures that share 100 percent of our DNA — an exact match, actually? And these creatures look “just like a human baby,” because they are human, and in fact “persons,” regardless of what current laws say. But unfortunately, most people are like randi’s dinner crowd, who “just couldn’t care about what happens to chimpanzees” — or unborn human children.

I challenge randi to use her own logic to help defend the unborn.

And I will contribute to janegoodall.org.

JACK HOLLAND Baldwin

Some of us know what teachers go through

To the Editor: re Mark Nolan’s column in last week’s Herald, “You have no idea with teachers deal with”: Yep — all sad but true. My wife is a retired first-grade teacher. It’s hard to believe that so much starts there, but it does.

Yes, teachers are well paid, but most of them really earn it! Thanks to them, and God bless them.

DICK CArDOzO Westbury

widespread contamination of the state’s rivers, streams, ponds, and marine environments. The alarming ability of neonics to contaminate water resources is particularly concerning for Long Island’s sole-source aquifer.

Imidacloprid, one of the most used neonics, is found in hundreds of products on the market. It’s used on lawns, turf, golf courses, gardens, farms, pets, ornamental plantings, and in households. United States Geological Survey monitoring of Long Island groundwater in 2016 found imidacloprid to be one of the most frequently detected pesticides, present in approximately 31 percent of samples taken.

State Department of Environmental

Conservation groundwater testing data revealed that imidacloprid was the most common pesticide found in Long Island groundwater, with 890 detections in 179 locations. Long Island is designated as a sole-source drinking water area, meaning that 100 percent of our drinking water comes from groundwater aquifers.

The ubiquitous and unnecessary use of these pesticides is damaging our drinking water quality and threatening our health. Clean and safe drinking water is a basic human need, and neonics put that at risk.

There is growing scientific evidence of how neonicotinoids threaten human health. Several studies link neonic exposure to developmental harm, including malformations of the developing heart and brain. The longer we wait to ban the most dangerous uses of neonics, the longer we expose New Yorkers to this neurotoxin and amplify the adverse health impacts of chronic prolonged exposure. The Birds and Bees Protection Act targets the heart of New York’s neonic pollution problem. It would prohibit neonic-treated corn, soybean and wheat seeds as well as ornamental uses on lawns, gardens and golf courses.

The State Senate and Assembly passed the bill this legislative session. Now we need Hochul to stand up to the pesticide industry and the chemical companies who are hard at work, aggressively lobbying her to veto the bill. Protecting public health and saving the bees are in the public interest, which needs to be prioritized over corporate interests. We need the governor to sign the Birds and Bees Protection Act.

Framework by Tim Baker