Good and Bad

My comments on some contemporary events:

• Good: Building the Atlantic pipeline into North Carolina. In an ideal world, we would be curtailing use of fossil fuels — and we should aim for that. But in today's world, I'd rather see Duke Energy burning natural gas than coal. Is there a legitimate concern about fracking? Yes, I oppose fracking because of its consumption of groundwater (which we don't have a lot of) and its uncertain long-term effects on geology. But the pipeline could just as easily carry natural gas from other sources. Yes, eastern North Carolina has a lot of poverty and the pipeline is running through mostly impoverished territory, but the proper response to that is to keep trying programs that address the woes of northeastern NC.
• Bad: Enraged dad Randall Margraves attacks Larry Nassar in court. We know why Margraves is angry. I'd be angry too. We also know that some people have a limited capacity for self-control. But we have a system of justice, not personal vendettas or lynching. Let the police, courts, and prisons do their jobs. We cannot condone what Margraves did or tried to do.
• Good: NCDOT is finally moving to complete NC 540 around Raleigh. Opponents say that completing 540 will increase pollution and encourage sprawl. Yes, we need mass transit and Wake County residents just voted for a sales tax to that end. But to suspend construction of highways is absurd. So is expecting the growth of the Triangle from 2 million to 4 million people over the next 30 years — yes, that's the forecast — not to expand the footprint of developed land. As for pollution, just think of how much pollution comes from cars sitting for hours in traffic that doesn't move. And our buses need better roads, too. Pave, baby, pave.
• Bad: Sexual harassment in Hollywood. The words "casting couch" are not new, but did anyone imagine that so many female actors were being abused? I first became a manager of people in 1981, and from day one there were women reporting to me. For 35 years I have consistently worked to give women in the workplace fair treatment. Not once have I hit on a woman who reported to me or had applied for a job that I had posted. It astonishes me how many men can't keep their hands off women.
• Good: The church that I attend has completed a $75,000 installation of solar panels. The message is that people of faith, regardless of their tradition, believe that protecting the environment is an imperative. Will it also reduce electricity expense? Of course. Do we know how much we will save? No, but ask us in a few years when we will be able to tell you. Sometimes, a bold step is required to illuminate the path for others.
• Bad: Suspending the work rights of spouses whose partners entered the U.S. on H-1B visas. I have had misgivings about the H-1B visa program from the start. However, the people who have come to the U.S. under the program — largely from India and China — have strictly complied with the law. They are not "illegal immigrants" or even "undocumented workers". If you believe that the H-1B program should be killed, ok. I might agree with you. But don't take the coward's way out of forcing the people to go home by making it financially infeasible to stay here.
• Good: The risks of prescription pain medications are becoming understood. Yes, oxycodone is good when you have a kidney stone. I can testify to that. Likewise if someone has terminal metastatic cancer. Aside from those situations, opoids are to be avoided. I won't say that all physicians have been irresponsible, but clearly some have been. Journalists are now illuminating how the crisis came to be. We need good journalism now more than ever.
• Bad: GenX. Somehow, a chemical that no one understands has been allowed to enter the water in southeastern North Carolina. I am not easily frightened, but this sounds genuinely scary. Once the rivers and groundwater become polluted, it is very difficult to rid them of a noxious agent. The clear message from my chemistry classes and a summer job working in a real chemical lab was never to let your guard down when using a fluorinated organic chemical. Ever.