Protect our wetlands, protect all our water
Your article on May 28th by Mollie Putzig [Re: “Protecting Boulder’s wetlands to prevent future floods,” News, May 28] points out how crucial it is to protect Colorado wetlands as they are “natural water filters, removing pollutants like heavy metals, pesticides and fertilizers” from the streams.
I’ve been following the issue for some time, and last week the federal government and the EPA finalized a rule that would mend the loopholes in the Clean Water Act and help protect the streams and wetlands that fall into the gray area of the current form of the Act.
Organizations like Environment Colorado have been working to fix the loophole for almost a decade, and I know, now that the rule has been proposed, big polluters are going to try and intervene when it comes time for the senate to vote on the issue.
President Obama has shown support for the new rule, but we still need Senator Bennet to continue to be an advocate for the well-being of Colorado by supporting the rule that will protect our streams, rivers and wetlands. Hopefully the rule will be accepted and become a huge win for all of Colorado.
Virginia Allen/Highlands Ranch
Chipotle removes GMOs from its food
Chipotle’s announcement that they are removing genetically engineered ingredients is a major step forward for the company and an important milestone in creating a safer and healthier food system for all Americans. Increasingly, it is clear that consumers want food without genetically engineered ingredients, and have already rewarded Chipotle with increased sales for its growing non-GMO commitments. Evidence shows that GMOs are increasing the use of toxic herbicide use due to the development of herbicide-resistant weeds. Most recently, glyphosate, which is commonly used on GMO crops, was deemed a probable carcinogen by the World Health Organization. Consumers are increasingly concerned about the impacts of GMOs on the environment and human health and it is time for the restaurant industry and other food companies to make a change. Chipotle has shown that it is possible for a large “fast food” chain adopt a more sustainable food supply. It is time that all food companies follow suit and move beyond genetically engineered ingredients and towards a more sustainable food system that benefits people and the planet.
Green America
TPP bad for labor
Contrary to Congressman Polis’ oft-spoken claim that free trade agreements (FTAs) benefit Coloradans, Colorado has lost more than 20,000 manufacturing jobs since NAFTA and the World Trade Organization (WTO) agreements took effect. More than 28,000 Colorado jobs have been certified under Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) as lost to offshoring or imports. These numbers undercount job loss as TAA only covers a subset of jobs lost to trade.
Nationally, past trade deals (NAFTA, Korea FTA, China’s entry into the WTO, CAFTA, Colombia FTA) have resulted in a net loss of 5 million U.S. manufacturing jobs. Under TPP, there is a projected loss of 91,500 U.S. jobs in autos to Japan (Center for Automotive Research) and 522,000 U.S. jobs in textiles and related sectors to Vietnam (National Council of Textile Organizations). TPP would also result in off-shoring of jobs from U.S. call centers, computer programming, engineering, accounting, medical diagnosis and more. Millions of public sector jobs are at risk since the TPP would give foreign firms in the U.S. equal access to the majority of federal procurement contracts. Unbelievably, TPP would also provide special benefits and rights to firms that off-shore investment and jobs.
Congressman Polis claims that the TPP will increase exports. Past evidence contradicts this assertion. Colorado’s export growth to FTA partners has actually lagged behind non-FTA partners, according to data by the International Trade Administration (3 percent versus 8 percent since 2009). Nationwide, growth of U.S. exports to countries that are not FTA partners has exceeded export growth to FTA partners by 24 percent over the last decade. Congressman Polis needs to vote against Fast Tracking the TPP to stop egregious harm to Coloradans and the American people.
Please contact him with your views at polis.house.gov/contact/ or call (303) 484-9596.
Betty Ball/Boulder
