Letters: Other views on drilling and insurance

Offshore drilling not clearly good

The wide spread opposition from coastal states to expanded offshore drilling is based on practical concerns and current policy realities. A piece (“Objections to offshore drilling don’t hold water,” Aug. 14) claimed that offshore drilling is now safer than ever, yet the industry is presently pushing to eliminate the few safety standards put in place after the Deepwater Horizon disaster. Simultaneously pushing for more drilling and less safety is a recipe for disaster.

Also misleading was the claim that policymakers should consider offshore drilling an economic opportunity. States wouldn’t see significant jobs or revenue for 10-20 years after the initial leasing period, if at all. And for what? Only two years of oil and one year worth of gas. All while risking 2.6 million jobs and $180 billion in GDP supported by America’s coastal fishing, recreation and tourism industries.

The damage to coastal economies would be permanent along with the irreversible contributions to our increasingly changing climate. The people and communities that rely on America’s clean coasts might never recover from the industrialization of the ocean or the long-term pollution that is unavoidable in the routine operation of offshore drilling.

Our policymakers must listen to these legitimate objections and reverse this plan for expanded offshore drilling.

Roger Downs, conservation director

Sierra Club Atlantic Chapter

No-fault reform must protect injured

The lawsuit filed by Mayor Mike Duggan and the City of Detroit that seeks to have Michigan Auto No-Fault declared unconstitutional is misguided.

The mayor’s comment that his preference is for no-fault insurance to completely go away is short-sighted and shows a real disconnect from the realities a person faces after suffering a serious injury in an auto accident. His comment neglects to mention the significant likelihood that without auto no-fault, a serious injury suffered in an auto accident will also include financial hardship and even bankruptcy for the victim and their family.

Whenever no-fault reform involves a balanced approach that not only targets medical and rehabilitation providers, but the insurance industry as well, suddenly some of the folks in Lansing and Mayor Duggan seem to lose interest. The issue of Michigan Auto No-Fault is more than a legal issue, it is a human issue. We cannot focus on driving down the cost of premiums while losing sight of the effects it will have on the injured.

Anyone of us can be involved in an auto accident. Every day thousands of Michiganians live their lives with a traumatic brain injury or spinal cord injury they suffered in an automobile accident, and are grateful to have the benefits provided to them under Michigan Auto No-Fault.

Timothy F. Hoste, president

Michigan Brain Injury Provider Council