We need wind, especially here in Minnesota. The earth’s vast oceans produce water vapor due to evaporation, but these clouds of water vapor would remain over the oceans if it wasn’t for monsoonal winds that drive the clouds over the continents. Minnesota is near the middle of the continent, so lots of monsoonal wind is required to bring moisture to replenish our many lakes and streams. If it wasn’t for the winds many of our lakes would dry up and the level of the Great Lakes would drop.

These winds are our greatest resource. So why aren’t we protecting them? The first law of thermodynamics states energy cannot be created or destroyed. It can only change forms. When the energy of a moving car is reduced, the moving (kinetic) energy is changed to heat energy by the brakes. In like manner, when wind farms take energy from the wind to produce electrical energy, they weaken the wind. This means more droughts and lower levels for the Great Lakes, etc.

We need to stop weakening our winds before we create the greatest man-made ecological disaster since the Dust Bowl years of the 1930s. We need to stop all wind farms before it is too late.

David J. Ameling, Red Wing

Government spending and jobs

In response to “If not for the taxes …” (June 19), the government can and does create jobs, often doing a better job of this than the private sector. Think of all the policemen, firemen and teachers out there. Think of all the soldiers, sailors and spies. Think of all those in the private sector filling orders for everything from jet fighters to freeway off-ramps.

There is indeed a difference in the rationale for creating a job in the private sector from that in the government. The profit motive is the reason for hiring a new worker in the private sector. If I hire a new person to help with the work, I can make more money. Creating that job usually has nothing to do with that decision. An exception is a family business where the reason for expanding is to make room in the company for more family members to be employed.

The rationale for hiring someone in the government is not the profit motive, of course. It is to create a public good. If we stretch this reasoning a bit, we could think of the government as a REALLY BIG family business.

The writer is absolutely right in noting that, without taxes, none of this government work gets done. And one can argue back and forth as to the right kinds of public goods we want and the right level of taxation necessary to pay for all this work. But there is very clearly a direct link between more government spending and more jobs created.

Now, regarding your position, please recognize that you, too, are on the “public nickel” every time you back out of your driveway and onto the street.

John Crea, St. Paul

Infrastructure fixes

To ensure Minnesota can compete in a global economy, we must have solid systems — from our electrical grid and communications systems to our roads, bridges and transit systems. Right now, we don’t. We’re leaking clean water. We have almost 1,200 bridges that are structurally deficient. Our schools need billions of dollars of upgrades to be safe and healthy. And, like much of the rest of the United States, we can’t afford to wait any longer.

Fixing our infrastructure systems is vital to having a strong state with good jobs and a clean environment. It will also help us tackle the issue of climate change.

For example, there are an estimated 240,000 water main breaks a year. Replacing that leaked water requires energy to pump even more water, resulting in not just water waste, but energy waste — and increased carbon dioxide emissions — as well. A Chicago State University study showed that reducing the amount of water leaked annually in the United States by only 5 percent would result in saving enough energy to power 31,000 homes for a year and cutting 225,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions.

If we combine these vital infrastructure fixes with common-sense policies to reduce carbon — like regulating greenhouse gases in power plants to reduce pollution — we can make real progress as a state and nation in addressing the looming threat of climate change.

Bob Ryan, Maplewood