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Roanoke should build a shelter -- in Lynchburg

I see more signs of the same old hand-wringing issues of the homeless and why the city of Roanoke can't do anything about the problem.

Regarding Aubrey Hicks' letter "Roanoke needs to do more for the homeless" (Dec. 23), I never saw the invitations sent out from the mayor and city council inviting any of these so-called homeless people here to the city.

The ultimate question should be, how do the homeless people plan to fix their plights, not what Roanoke plans to do about it. We should be concerned about our own Roanoke Valley homeless residents and not try to support homeless people from all over the East Coast.

The Rescue Mission, Salvation Army and others have for many years done very good work, but they should be aware of the problem they have created. They could help by encouraging people to stay in their communities and get help there and not to come to Roanoke.

As long as you open the doors wide, they will come. People must be held responsible for their own actions.

Maybe we could pool all of our money and build a large shelter in Lynchburg, and they will go there.

Renewable energy reduces pollution

In response to the commentary "Wind farms, yes, but not on ridges" (Dec. 10), the subject is not as "open and shut" as is suggested.

Wind development can allow activities under the turbines, and even wind farms in the Midwest have farming operations ongoing as the turbines operate.

In 2004, wind energy in California produced about 1.5 percent of the state's total electricity. The California Energy Commission estimates that newer technologies can reduce the cost of wind energy to 3.5 cents per kilowatt-hour.

But more important, coal companies in West Virginia are blowing off mountaintops, leaving the waste in rivers, streams and on farmland. Coal-fired electric plants produce sulphur and nitrous oxides and particulates, known to cause acid rain and respiratory diseases. They also produce mercury and carcinogens that damage our immune systems.

Coal generation spews carbon, which is changing our global climate. Recent studies by experts of Germany's version of NASA published in a Greenpeace report show that energy efficiency and renewable energy can reduce global carbon emissions over 50 percent by 2030.

Such actions aren't always easy and require sacrifices, but the consequences of not allowing clean energy development has profound impacts on our planet and our national security.

President, The Stella Group, LTD.

Plaintiffs had no choice in bringing I-81 lawsuit

The recent editorial on I-81 ("Trains alone won't fix I-81", Dec. 20) was right on target. You conclude, "Traffic planners must devise a comprehensive solution that incorporates multiple modes of transportation."

Spot on. This is also the position of the plaintiffs who have filed suit against the Virginia Department of Transportation's plans for a destructive, mostly eight-lane, tolled highway that this agency and its contractors would like to see pushed through the historic and ecologically sensitive Shenandoah Valley.

Since mid-2005, when VDOT and contractor Halliburton announced their plan for the hugely expensive and largely unneeded STAR project, plaintiff Shenandoah Valley Network has proposed a balanced solution for the I-81 corridor.

SVN's reasonable solutions include not only immediate safety improvements and selective road widening, but rail improvements that can relieve more than 1 million trucks annually from I-81, speed limit enforcement, and urban transit facilities for commuters.

Over 90 percent of the participants at VDOT's public hearings rejected an all-highway solution. In response, VDOT has teamed with the Federal Highway Administration to begin construction immediately on basically the original plan .

It was indeed unfortunate that litigation needed to be filed in this matter, but VDOT left the citizens of the Shenandoah Valley no other option.

Correction

Due to an editor's error, Rep. Virgil Goode's party affiliation was incorrectly listed in the letter "Grandkids will have to even the score," published Dec. 28. Goode is a Republican.