Mask-wearers: Dispose of used masks in way that prevents ground and waterway litter

Dispose of masks properly

There is much debate regarding the effectiveness of non-K95 face coverings in inhibiting the spread of COVID-19.

My point here is not to debate the use of them, but to address their disposal. You can go nowhere without seeing used face covering litter. Proper disposal would seem to require treating them as bio-hazardous waste.

Instead they are indiscriminately tossed to the ground.

In addition, most are not biodegradable and so will remain intact possibly for hundreds of years, littering our landscapes and waterways via the storm drains many will wash down.

My request is that if you choose to wear a covering, please be considerate of your fellow citizens and the environment.

Please put your used masks in waste receptacles so they won’t remain in parking lots, ditches and waterways.

David Finch, Blythewood

Help farmers succeed

South Carolina’s agricultural community deserves to be part of the climate debate that is taking place in Washington, D.C. — as do farmers across the country.

The decisions our elected officials make have a direct impact on the agriculture industry and local farmers’ ability to succeed in a topsy-turvy economic climate.

That is what makes the recent Senate-passed legislation known as the Growing Climate Solutions Act so important. It is a bold, bipartisan policy that will expand access for farmers to the carbon credit market and improve resources for them to implement practices that capture carbon and reduce emissions.

This voluntary, market-based approach is a smart way to encourage farmers to incorporate sustainable farming practices without relying on heavy-handed regulations. It has also garnered widespread support from the agriculture industry and environmental experts.

Rep. Joe Wilson should follow the lead of both Senators Lindsey Graham and Tim Scott by voting “yes” on the Growing Climate Solutions Act.

The sooner this bill passes, the better off S.C. farmers will be.

Michael Burgess, Lexington

Vaccinating is patriotic act

I remember as a child standing in line to get my sugar cube. In the sugar cube was vaccine to prevent polio, a debilitating and deadly disease.

I never thought about being proud of what I was doing, and I certainly didn’t think my parents were courageous for forcing me to take the vaccine. After all, the government mandated it.

I also remember my dad talking about rationing coupons during World War II, when the government limited citizens’ access to things like gasoline, sugar, meat and tires.

It was all done in the name of shared sacrifice to ensure victory in the war. I was impressed with the stories my dad told, but I can’t say that I was ever “proud” of his effort.

But now, I can’t help but feel proud. Proud of my parents’ ability to make sacrifices for the common good without whining and complaining that their “constitutional rights” were being infringed upon.

How has it come to this? That I should feel proud for doing something that any normal, well-adjusted patriotic, caring person would do?

Tim Mueller, Columbia

Stop with the needle images

A recent article featured how needle phobia is stopping many from getting a COVID vaccination. As a physician with decades of experience, I recognize that this is real and a show stopper for many.

For the last year, I’ve watched all the major networks report nightly on COVID. Invariably, while the talking heads blather, the background is an ongoing video of needles entering arms. Talk about putting needle phobics in full panic mode!

A few weeks ago, I wrote to several networks raising this issue and suggested they’d made their point. Enough already! Apparently, my emails didn’t get to the right person.

Tom Downs, M.D., Beaufort