LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

To the Editor:

The Artists Association of Nantucket was deeply saddened to hear of the loss of Neil Parent. He was a long-time friend anda generous supporter of the organization. During the design and construction of our properties - the AAN Gallery on Washington Street and the Workshop at 1 Gardner Perry Lane - Neil gave unselfishly of his time and professional services. We simply could not have accomplished all that we did without his unfailing support.

Neil was a kind and thoughtful man, who rarely asked for much in return. Our thoughts and gratitude go out to his family.
Robert Frazier, Gallery Director
Cecil Barron Jensen,
Managing Director
To the Editor:

Before the Industrial Revolution (including the previous 10,000 years, measurements show) earth had roughly 280 parts per million of carbon dioxide in its atmosphere. Today, 160 years later, global warming gases have increased that by 37 percent to 384 ppm, mainly due to burning fossil fuels. Unless quickly curtailed, carbon dioxide's forecasted rise is another 100 ppm in the next 50 years! Warmer temperatures melted so much Arctic Sea ice that the Northwest Passage now becomes ice-free, and the volume of Arctic Sea ice at summer's end was half what it was just four years ago. Because we are bounded on three sides by ocean, the Cape and Islands will be severely affected by the rising sea levels.

To prevent such catastrophes, we need major advances in clean power. We use energy for light, heat, mechanical work and motive power - and for electricity, which has the versatility to also power the other four uses. Meanwhile, the world population is exploding - China, the world's fastestgrowing economy, has a population of 1.3 billion (four times ours). China's per capita consumption rate is now one-tenth of ours, but if it rises to ours the world's overall consumption rate will double. If India also catches up, world consumption rates will triple.

Forty percent of America's carbon dioxide emissions come from producing electricity, and another thirty percent from transportation, where plug-in hybrid electric vehicles promise a major improvement. Cape Wind, the first American project to follow Europe's successful shallowwater wind turbine trend, will set our course. Unless Cape Wind moves ahead quickly, you and I will continue to pay the highest electricity prices in the continental U.S.

To counteract our recession, American industry needs to invest in clean energy, creating good jobs that won't be outsourced overseas. We need Cape Wind's final approval now to bring us needed clean electricity.
Jim Liedell
Yarmouth Port