LETTERS: Nothing like the night sky at Gold Butte

Dark skies

The Perseid meteor shower blazed across our dark desert skies this past week, and I was fortunate enough to share the experience with a group of youths who had never even witnessed a meteor streak across the sky. Our natural world put on for us an awesome show displaying the wonder and beauty of the universe in all of its glory.

Every star in the sky was visible as we passed the light pollution barrier of Las Vegas. The best place to see such a sight is just out of town, behind Mesquite in Gold Butte. The youngsters who have been volunteering in the effort to protect Gold Butte loved the views. These young champions of our public lands got to see something I was fortunate enough to enjoy growing up.

My parents had these experiences themselves growing up and they imparted that wonder of our natural world and a dark night's sky. Unfortunately, many young Nevadans never get to experience dark skies and the Milky Way in its entire splendor. The lights of the city drown out the stars. The fact is most people now live in cities, and that trend will continue to grow. It is rare now that youths even get to see dark skies.

That is why we have to protect public lands like Gold Butte, so everyone will have the opportunity to gaze upon the stars and be inspired the same way our species has throughout the ages.

Christian Gerlach

Las Vegas

The author is a community organizer for the Sierra Club.

Erasing ancestry

I read in the July 18 Review-Journal that the California Legislative Black Caucus wants to change the name of Fort Bragg because Gen. Braxton Bragg went to the Confederate side during the Civil War. Why stop there?

Let's wipe out all names of slave owners from the time we gained our independence from England; that would be all signers of our Declaration of Independence and all signers of our Constitution, including my husband's ancestor, Lyman Hall.

My great-grandfather was a slave owner. My grandfather had a black mistress. I have a grandson who is half-black. I am against the KKK and have always tried to respect everyone. Being from the South and being proud of my heritage do not automatically make me a racist.

This is going too far. Should we rename every city, county and state that was named after slave owners? Should we just give the United States back to the Native Americans from whom we stole it? Are we to apologize forever for what our ancestors did?

We can't change the past; all we can do is try to make the future better. We don't need to change names or tear down statues to do this. We need to change our attitudes, forgive the past and try to be a better society than the one our ancestors created.

Claudia A. Hall

Las Vegas

Gas prices

This past June, I remember filling my gas tank at a local gas station for a short vacation. Crude was listed in the Review-Journal at around $57 a barrel, and regular gas was $2.99 per gallon.

Since then, crude oil prices have dropped to below $43 a barrel and predictions are that it may drop even lower. My local gas station prices climbed upward to $3.12 while crude seemed to stay under $51.

I remember the oil companies telling us that prices would go up due to striking employees, refinery maintenance and even oil refinery fires. Local gasoline prices seem to rise faster when crude inches upward as opposed to prices dropping when crude goes down. I just wonder what our local retailers' excuses are now when the national average is in the $2.60 range.

Joe Schaerer

Las Vegas