LETTERS: Fracking doesn’t affect water? Visit North Dakota

In my 70 years of life in this desert I have learned one thing: Without clean water you can't make beer.

Even more important than making beer, water is essential to life. Without clean water you can't have a healthy life. Heck, you can't even have a decent shower.

I recently got to go to a wedding in Bakersfield, Calif. My nephew flew in from the oil fields in North Dakota. Over the course of the wedding I got to talking to him, and he would tell us about how bad it is in North Dakota. The guys on the oil crews can't even take a shower without the oil company trucking in water. And in the places where they are going after methane, the crews can literally light the water from their faucets on fire, a result of built-up methane gas. To top it all off, he told us about the work sites around him being closed down because it's not economically viable to go after what's there.

In its Tuesday editorial, the Las Vegas Review-Journal cites a lot of claims that fracking doesn't hurt groundwater without delving into the funding sources of the scientists who conducted the studies to ensure there is no conflict of interest. The Review-Journal also claims that this type of development is sustainable. I invite the editorial page staff of the Review-Journal to take a trip and shadow my nephew for a day.

Siegfried Gerlach

North Las Vegas

GOP debate

I watched Wednesday's Republican presidential debate, and the Thursday Review-Journal front page headline, "Familiar Feud," surprised me.

The combativeness I witnessed was mainly with the CNBC moderators. The moderators actually lost control of this debate. They were unable to spin it their way.

The topic of the debate was the economy, and the contenders were expecting to address the topic. It was inspiring to hear so many knowledgeable, experienced and highly-motivated individuals air their views. This is a very impressive and diverse group of Americans, and we are fortunate to have so many capable people willing to run for the presidency.

Let us hope that future media coverage of these GOP contenders is fair and honest.

M. Marcia Brutch

Henderson

Bad for schools

In its Friday editorial on Nevada's educational performance, the Review-Journal exposed its true feelings about public education. For the newspaper, it is not something to be fixed but something to escape from. In its own words, the newspaper says: "ESAs provide an escape hatch."

The newspaper sees public education only in terms of national test scores. Or, at least that is how it wants you, the reader, to see it. Again, in the Review-Journal's own words: "English Language Learners drag down the numbers and keep Nevada in the country's educational basement."

Are there a lot of poor and minority students in Nevada who are having a tough time learning? Yes. Does that mean that these students are somehow dragging down those students who do not have such handicaps? No. Public education is a heck of a lot richer than some national test scores.

You know what will drag down the public education system? Pulling out the better students with a gimmick called Education Savings Accounts. They are a gimmick because they are really designed for giving the rich back some of their taxes for education. Another thing that will pull the whole system down is to not provide sufficient teachers to allow both the education of all and the education of those with special needs.

Unfortunately, it is the newspaper's opinion that English Language Learners are hopeless to educate and others should simply escape. Horace Mann is turning over in his grave.

Richard L. Strickland

North Las Vegas