Prentiss to run again

I am writing to announce my decision to run for re-election to the New Hampshire Senate representing the 15 communities in District 5. Over the past four years, I have had the privilege of serving as your senator and am committed to continue working on your behalf. Growing up as one of six children, I learned early how to work well with others, to build consensus when needed, and the value of hard work. Whether it’s passing a new law, changing one that’s not working and/or solving a problem for one of my constituents, I apply that lived experience every day.

During my time in office, I have worked tirelessly to address issues facing our community, including improving systems of care, supporting working families, increasing public safety, protecting reproductive freedom and strengthening public education. I have also been a strong advocate for transparency and accountability in government, and I will continue to prioritize these values if re-elected.

I believe that my experience, dedication and proven track record make me the best candidate to continue representing the interests of District 5. In the last year alone, I sent 12 bills to the governor’s desk. And my consensus-building skills were put to the test when I was named to 16 Committees of Conference, hammering out differences between House and Senate versions of legislation. I am committed to listening to the concerns of residents, collaborating with stakeholders and finding innovative solutions to the challenges we face.

I am humbly asking for the support and trust of the voters once again. I am and always will be, a “State Senator for All of Us.”

Sue Prentiss

West Lebanon

We can’t ignore warming

Carbon dioxide is invisible but its effects are not. May marked the 12th consecutive month of record global heat. Our oceans are experiencing dangerous heating, acidification and loss of oxygen because of increased amounts of CO2 in the atmosphere. Polar ice is melting faster than predicted.

The National Oceanographic Atmospheric Administration reported 23 climate disasters in 2023, costing more than $1 billion each. The long-term average is nine per year. Insurance companies are responding by raising rates, changing coverages or leaving high-risk areas.

Hurricanes have become so strong that scientists are considering adding Category 6 storms. Australia has added a new color in temperature maps for temperatures above 122 degrees. The Great Lakes had close to no ice this winter. In April, the desert nation of United Arab Emirates experienced a rain bomb, when two years of rain fell in one day.

We are suffering from what statistician and risk analyst, Nassim Taleb, called the “Lucretia Problem.” In his book “Fire Weather” John Vaillant describes this as “the difficulty humans have in imagining and assimilating things outside their own personal experience.” We cannot wrap our heads around the reality of climate change and its deadly implications. The author described this in the context of the disastrous Fort McMurray wildfire, where firefighters confronted a blaze that no training or experience had prepared them for. It didn’t go well.

Sadly, misinformation, hubris, greed and anti-science have ruled the day. Republicans parrot fossil fuel-industry talking points. But the evidence mounts.

Allan MacDonald

New London

House needs new paint

There is a house in the town where I live. It’s an old abandoned house painted with the colors of the Ukrainian flag, the flag of a foreign nation; a foreign nation with one of the most corrupt governments in the world. And that is quite a claim in a world of indescribable corruption.

To me, the house has been a repulsive eyesore for a couple of years already. It seems to say that we Americans should defend leaders of a country on the other side of the world and spend ourselves into oblivion funding a war that should never have happened in the first place; a war that should have been negotiated and prevented and has, predictably, resulted in reducing Ukraine to a bloody graveyard.

As always, this has only served the interests of bankers and corporate interests who own our politicians and the political process. They cheerfully absorb the financial windfall. What sense does it make for the rest of us to enable their despicable, self-serving greed and violence? I wish someone would tear down that house already, or at least give it a new coat of paint. Frankly, it’s an embarrassment.

Neil Meliment

Hartland