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In the Inter Lake for Jan. 5 is an AP article by Matthew Daly concerning President Trump’s offshore drilling plan. Daly says, “A coalition of more than 60 environmental groups immediately denounced the plan, saying it would cause ‘severe and unacceptable harm’ to America’s oceans, coastal economies, public health and marine life.”

Maybe not.

In 2008, Louisiana’s offshore oil platforms produced 25 percent of America’s domestic oil. In the same year, Louisiana produced almost 30 percent of America’s commercial fisheries. Only Alaska produced slightly more. Instead of doing “severe and unacceptable harm” to marine life, those platforms have become artificial reefs producing an explosion of marine life 50 times more abundant than the surrounding Gulf bottoms. For more commentary, read “The Environmental Benefits of Offshore Drilling” by Humberto Fontova (June 2, 2008).

The coalition’s denouncement also predicted unacceptable harm to coastal economies. Would anyone dare to call the above 30 percent economically harmful? Apparently the denouncement’s authors didn’t do enough research.

Cheap energy from those platforms makes it possible for the seafood under them to be processed and transported to consumers at an affordable price. With 7.5 billion people to feed on this planet, we need all the food sources we can develop.

If we stop using coal, oil and natural gas, most of us will starve to death in the dark. Since 1980 there has been an 80 percent increase in the use of fossil fuels. They now supply 86 percent of the world’s energy. See page 44 of Alex Epstein’s book, “The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels.” You can download the first chapter free. It’s good reading! —Dale Ferguson, Polson

Glad to see tree return to state

I was both humbled and proud to see Montana represented so beautifully this Christmas season when a spruce tree grown in our state was chosen to be the Capitol Christmas Tree in Washington, D.C. All of us who live in Montana appreciate the Big Sky State’s incredible natural beauty.

So when Sen. Tester announced his plan to take the tree back to Montana and use the lumber to rebuild the historic Sperry Chalet. I couldn’t imagine a better use for it.

We were devastated when Sperry Chalet burned in last year’s brutal wildfires. This scenic and public landmark nestled in Glacier National Park has provided shelter to enthusiasts of the outdoors for over a century. It is only fitting that Tester is working with folks to bring this Montana spruce, which was harvested not far from where Sperry Chalet itself stands, home to assist the rebuilding effort.

Sen. Tester has always worked hard to make sure that Montana is well represented in Washington. His work to take this piece of Montana beauty home to rebuild a treasured feature of our national parks will be meaningful to many of his public lands-loving constituents. Thank you, senator!” —Terri Smith, Whitefish

Sorry to see building go

I caught my breath in a gasp when I opened the paper on Jan. 11 and my eye caught the second headline. It was the worst kind of change — destruction of an historic landmark, the Frank Lloyd Wright building in Whitefish, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

I’m sure it was a collective gasp. Whatever good will that building owner Mick Ruis had built as a result of developing Columbia Falls for the better was negated at that moment. What a difference between him and a good corporate citizen, F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber, who will cut the Montana raised U.S. Capitol Christmas tree into usable board feet to include in the reconstruction of the Sperry Chalet, which was destroyed by the Sprague Fire last summer!

Mr. Ruis’s undoing was inexplicably moving the deadline to allow the coalition of preservation partners to arrange a deal to save the historic building from late 2018 up to Jan. 10, 2018.

The damage to the building cannot be undone, but as a Montana native, if I know my fellow Montanans, someone will pay for it. —Jenny La Sorte, Kalispell

Does offshore drilling really harm ocean life?

In the Inter Lake for Jan. 5 is an AP article by Matthew Daly concerning President Trump’s offshore drilling plan. Daly says, “A coalition of more than 60 environmental groups immediately denounced the plan, saying it would cause ‘severe and unacceptable harm’ to America’s oceans, coastal economies, public health and marine life.”

Maybe not.

In 2008, Louisiana’s offshore oil platforms produced 25 percent of America’s domestic oil. In the same year, Louisiana produced almost 30 percent of America’s commercial fisheries. Only Alaska produced slightly more. Instead of doing “severe and unacceptable harm” to marine life, those platforms have become artificial reefs producing an explosion of marine life 50 times more abundant than the surrounding Gulf bottoms. For more commentary, read “The Environmental Benefits of Offshore Drilling” by Humberto Fontova (June 2, 2008).

The coalition’s denouncement also predicted unacceptable harm to coastal economies. Would anyone dare to call the above 30 percent economically harmful? Apparently the denouncement’s authors didn’t do enough research.

Cheap energy from those platforms makes it possible for the seafood under them to be processed and transported to consumers at an affordable price. With 7.5 billion people to feed on this planet, we need all the food sources we can develop.

If we stop using coal, oil and natural gas, most of us will starve to death in the dark. Since 1980 there has been an 80 percent increase in the use of fossil fuels. They now supply 86 percent of the world’s energy. See page 44 of Alex Epstein’s book, “The Moral Case for Fossil Fuels.” You can download the first chapter free. It’s good reading! —Dale Ferguson, Polson

Glad to see tree return to state

I was both humbled and proud to see Montana represented so beautifully this Christmas season when a spruce tree grown in our state was chosen to be the Capitol Christmas Tree in Washington, D.C. All of us who live in Montana appreciate the Big Sky State’s incredible natural beauty.

So when Sen. Tester announced his plan to take the tree back to Montana and use the lumber to rebuild the historic Sperry Chalet. I couldn’t imagine a better use for it.

We were devastated when Sperry Chalet burned in last year’s brutal wildfires. This scenic and public landmark nestled in Glacier National Park has provided shelter to enthusiasts of the outdoors for over a century. It is only fitting that Tester is working with folks to bring this Montana spruce, which was harvested not far from where Sperry Chalet itself stands, home to assist the rebuilding effort.

Sen. Tester has always worked hard to make sure that Montana is well represented in Washington. His work to take this piece of Montana beauty home to rebuild a treasured feature of our national parks will be meaningful to many of his public lands-loving constituents. Thank you, senator!” —Terri Smith, Whitefish

Sorry to see building go

I caught my breath in a gasp when I opened the paper on Jan. 11 and my eye caught the second headline. It was the worst kind of change — destruction of an historic landmark, the Frank Lloyd Wright building in Whitefish, which was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

I’m sure it was a collective gasp. Whatever good will that building owner Mick Ruis had built as a result of developing Columbia Falls for the better was negated at that moment. What a difference between him and a good corporate citizen, F.H. Stoltze Land and Lumber, who will cut the Montana raised U.S. Capitol Christmas tree into usable board feet to include in the reconstruction of the Sperry Chalet, which was destroyed by the Sprague Fire last summer!

Mr. Ruis’s undoing was inexplicably moving the deadline to allow the coalition of preservation partners to arrange a deal to save the historic building from late 2018 up to Jan. 10, 2018.

The damage to the building cannot be undone, but as a Montana native, if I know my fellow Montanans, someone will pay for it. —Jenny La Sorte, Kalispell