Your recent online article, \u201cColorado weather: red flag warnings issued for critical fire danger<\/a>,\u201d and the anniversary of the Marshall Fire last month got me thinking about the connection between wildfires and climate change.<\/p>\n My own commitment to climate action was renewed when my grandmother evacuated in the wake of the Marshall fire, and your article on January 4th suggests Colorado can expect yet more extreme fire conditions this year, endangering more lives. We must commit to addressing climate change as part of wildfire mitigation efforts.<\/p>\n The connection between wildfires and climate change is clear on NASA\u2019s website<\/a>, which states: \u201cAlthough some variations in the weather are natural, human-caused climate change has been found to be the main cause for increasing fire weather in the American West.\u201d The website continues: \u201cOver the past 20 years, the amount of land area burned each year has increased as wildfires have grown larger, while the number of fires each year has remained fairly constant.\u201d Taken together, these findings show that fire is a growing problem for Western states and that climate change is supercharging this worrisome trend.<\/p>\n These harsh realities and current fire conditions must pressure local governments and politicians to set and meet ambitious climate goals to keep our home state livable for all.<\/p>\n Monterey Holland Buchanan,\u00a0Denver<\/em><\/p>\n I would like to remind your readers who support the masking of ICE agents because of possible threats to their lives, that judges who have ruled against this administration, politicians who oppose this administration and reporters who question this administration are not masked and have also been threatened by said administration and doxxed by the same. Some, in fact, have even been killed for their beliefs.<\/p>\n These individuals are not as heavily armed as ICE agents and are just as, if not more, vulnerable than these ICE agents, who, in many cases, have not been properly vetted or trained.\u00a0 So civil disobedience and noncompliance are indeed justified.<\/p>\n Rochelle Davis, Denver<\/em><\/p>\n Coloradans pride themselves on compassion, responsibility, and doing what\u2019s right. Allowing the retail sale of puppies from commercial dog breeders undermines those values. That\u2019s one of the many reasons why legislation, like the one recently introduced by House Majority Leader Monica Duran, Senate Majority Leader Robert Rodriguez and Representative Karen McCormick, to ban these sales is so important.<\/p>\n Puppy mills produce puppies as cheaply and quickly as possible, often at the expense of the dogs\u2019 health and well-being. When those puppies develop medical or behavioral issues, many of them end up being surrendered to shelters that are already stretched thin. Meanwhile, thousands of healthy dogs sit in Colorado shelters waiting for homes, as pet stores continue to fuel the puppy mill pipeline in Colorado by selling puppies. Many of these puppies are trucked in from out of state. Ending the retail sales of dogs is a crucial way to reduce demand from puppy mills. Cities and states across the country have adopted similar policies, including several localities in Colorado.<\/p>\n This bill would help align Colorado\u2019s pet marketplace with our values and reduce unnecessary suffering. I strongly and respectfully urge Rep. Eliza Hamrick and Sen. Tom Sullivan to support this legislation \u2014 House Bill 26-1011<\/a> \u2014 and help ensure that Colorado ends the puppy mill pipeline in our state. No living, sentient being should suffer as these precious furry souls from puppy mills do. We are their salvation.<\/p>\nYet, politicians, judges, journalists remain unmasked<\/h4>\n
We can help stop puppy mills<\/h4>\n