Editorial Roundup: Alabama

Recent editorials from Alabama newspapers:

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Sept. 20

The Decatur Daily on climate change:

One cannot point to any one weather event with certainty and say, “Global warming did that.” But one can look at the accumulation of increasingly destructive and deadly storms and see a disturbing pattern that shows the changing climate is a real and present threat - not some worry for the future but for the here and now.

Hurricane Sally came ashore Wednesday near the Alabama-Florida state line as a Category 2 storm with 105 mph winds. Its storm surge and heavy rains flooded streets and homes, while its winds downed power lines and destroyed buildings from Gulf Shores to Orange Beach to Pensacola, Florida. Sally damaged the Gulf State Park - previously devastated by Hurricane Ivan in 2004 - on the exact day that a ribbon-cutting had been scheduled following the park’s $2.4 million renovation.

To the east, Sally collapsed a span of the Three Mile Bridge over Pensacola Bay, a bridge that is only 1 year old.

The Nina, a replica of one of the ships that brought Christopher Columbus to the New World in 1492, which has visited Decatur on numerous occasions, was docked at Pensacola. After Sally came though, the ship was reported missing.

The cost of all this damage will run into the millions. By Friday, Pensacola had started an online damage assessment dashboard where the cost of the storm to just that one city was estimated at $13 million.

That is just one storm. With two months remaining in the 2020 Atlantic hurricane season, forecasters have already run though their list of names. Tropical Storm Wilfred formed in the eastern Atlantic on Friday, soon followed by Subtropical Storm Alpha. This is only the second time forecasters have had to resort to the Greek alphabet for storm names.

Out west, California and Oregon have been besieged by dozens of wildfires that have forced thousands to flee their endangered homes and killed more than 30 people so far. Drought, high winds and record high temperatures have all helped drive the fires, whether they started by accident or nature.

This is the second year in the past three that the West Coast has been ablaze. Natural weather patterns like La Niña and El Niño are the most proximate factors in these and other weather events, but they are all super-charged by rising global temperatures.

The warmer the Earth gets, the more energy there is in the atmosphere, and that makes weather systems stronger and more chaotic. That’s how warmer temperatures overall can cause record cold and snowfall in a particular location.

The evidence is mounting, and so is the cost, both in terms of dollars and lives. Looking at the costs of dealing with global warming is looking at only one side of the ledger. We must also look at the costs of doing nothing or not enough.

It is simply unacceptable to continue dismissing global warming as a hoax. It is also unacceptable to keep some solutions, like nuclear power, off the table in the unrealistic belief that wind and solar energy will somehow save us. When dealing with the changing climate, nothing can be off the table.

Saying we can’t afford it won’t do. What we can’t afford is what’s happening now. Whether in the form of higher insurance premiums or taxpayer-funded disaster relief or subsidized flood insurance, we’re already paying the cost of inaction.

Online: https://www.decaturdaily.com

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Sept. 20

The Times Daily on the use of electronic poll books in an Alabama county:

The November General Election will have a new twist for Lauderdale County voters – they’ll use electronic poll books to sign in.

Alabama is one of 41 states that have authorized the use of e-poll books, but requires them to be certified by the secretary of state.

E-poll books serve multiple purposes: Voters use them to sign in at the polls, and poll workers use them to verify the voters’ eligibility to cast ballots. In some jurisdictions, they also tell electronic voting machines which digital ballot to display to the voter.

Probate Judge Will Motlow announced last week poll sites in Lauderdale County will only use the e-poll books to sign in voters. The voting will still be done by paper ballots.

Using the e-poll books should speed up the voting process, said Motlow. Instead of waiting for poll workers to thumb through the pages of binder books to find a voter’s name, each voter will just swipe their driver’s license and the e-poll book will call up the voter’s name. Once the voter confirms the name, the machine will print out a receipt for the voter to sign, which becomes the voter’s ticket to cast a ballot.

Poll workers will still be on hand to provide assistance to voters who don’t have a driver’s license, or those experiencing problems.

Most Alabama counties now use e-poll books in some capacity, including Colbert County which hasn’t experienced any major complications. Motlow is confident the new system will expedite the voting process.

“I’ve received positive reports from my colleagues (in counties using e-poll books). They say the poll workers like them and the voters like them,” he said.

The e-poll books are not without their critics, and their use has resulted in problems in some states.

For example, problems with Georgia’s new electronic poll books contributed to hours-long lines during the June primary election. And during South Dakota’s June 2018 primary, all 44 of Pennington County’s new electronic poll books crashed and had to be rebooted repeatedly, causing delays in voting.

Many of the problems experienced nationwide have been linked to systems integrating electronic poll books into wireless networks. Motlow stressed none of Lauderdale’s e-poll books will be connected to the internet, which should ease the minds of voters who worry about their personal information being compromised by hackers.

Also, county commissioners were wise to ask Motlow to contact the company that makes the e-poll books to request it send a representative to provide assistance on election day should it be needed.

The increased use of technology in elections is a trend that isn’t likely to go away, so voters must accept the changes. Lauderdale’s approach to implementing this technology makes sense. Test the new system at the sign-in stage. That way, if problems do pop up, the fix is an easy one – just revert to the old system of having poll workers check in voters using the binder books.

Online: https://www.timesdaily.com

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Sept. 19

The Cullman Times on the benefits of reading for children:

The Cullman County Library launched its “1,000 Books Before Kindergarten” reading program last week, and it’s a program every parent of a pre-k should be participating in. Reading to children has shown to improve their behavior, vocabulary and set them up for academic success across all subjects.

Reading to babies helps them develop language skills. Studies have shown that reading to infants stimulates areas of the brain associated with visual imagery and language. As you read “Cat in the Hat,” their little brains are connecting words to objects, building their language skills that will prepare them for school. According to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), one in three American children start kindergarten without the language skills needed to learn to read.

This deficit gets them off to a bad start. “Reading proficiency by the third grade is the most important predictor of high school graduation and career success,” an AAP report states.

Instilling in children a habit of reading and a love of books also helps them in every other area of academic study. Research done by the University of Malaga in Spain and University College London in the UK found that children who read books on a daily basis perform better on tests, including in math and science.

Reading introduces young minds to new worlds and people, exercises their brains and teaches them empathy. Children’s Librarian Jamielle Dimbo also notes the emotional impact of reading to young children. Story time provides children with their parents’ undivided attention, creating bonding moments. It’s also an opportunity to unplug from electronics and relax and unwind.

Participating in the “1,000 Books Before Kindergarten” is simple. Go by the library, sign up and receive instructions and other materials. Then just start reading. Older children can have the joy of picking out the books they want to hear or read - sometimes over and over and over again - but each time counts. For every 100 books read, children will get incentives to encourage them to keep going.

So give a mouse a cookie, hop on pop, check out Pete the Cat’s cool white shoes, say “Goodnight, Moon,” go where the wild things are, say no to green eggs and ham or discover other favorites that will take you and your children to imaginary places and success in life.

Online: https://www.cullmantimes.com