New Texas emissions law favored, challenged by writers

Point

by Nick Nance, reporter

    This summer, Texas is getting strict on decreasing emissions from vehicles, and it’s about time.

   Texas should have realized long ago the need to ensure the air in its rapidly growing urbanized areas is suitable for humans to breathe.

   We have needed tougher emissions standards for some time.
On a daily basis, I see an out-dated car, which I laughingly refer to as ol’ smokey because of the blue haze trailing behind.

   We need to ensure that all of the people in our cities in Texas have breathable air.

   Texans cannot succumb to the “it-won’t-affect-me” attitude held by so many.

   People with that attitude have not spent countless sleepless nights awake struggling to breathe.

   Nor have these people experienced midnight emergency room visits coupled with endless doctor visits because of breathing difficulties.

   As an individual who has suffered from asthma since childhood, I am certain only positive results will come from tougher emissions standards on our vehicles.

   I am not bothered by the $39.50 cost for the state inspections, nor should anyone else be. The cost is reasonable to ensure quality of air.

   I believe the government and residents will save money from medical expenses for those with respiratory problems.

   The cost is worth the benefit of not tasting the air we breathe.

   There is nothing worse than stepping outside first thing in the morning and tasting the exhaust from the 1996 Chevy Tahoe that just drove by my house.

   Members of our society have become so cheap and uninterested in the future that there is an underlying sense of hostility for the increased charges for the emissions test.

   Driving a vehicle is a privilege we all enjoy, and most of us have been rather spoiled by the ease of getting into our own vehicles and going to our own destination.

   To take part in this privilege, we should be responsible and concerned with our ecosystem and not get mad at the attendant who questions you when you get your car inspected.

   These are people doing a job, a job that has been given to them by the government to ensure your vehicle does not add to the pollution that already exists.

   Excessive emissions do affect us all, not just as Texans but as breathing people.

   We must breathe to sustain life; therefore, we must ensure what we breathe does not harm us, or our future generations.

   We must be active in doing our part so we can breathe our air, not see it or taste it.

Counterpoint

by Chris Taylor, reporter

   The state of Texas has recently passed a new, stricter emissions inspection law.

   This is just another example of a law that only applies to a few rather than everybody.

   If we really wanted to clean our air, a law would be passed that regulated trucks, power plants and other big businesses.

   This law really is nothing more than a bandage to appease the environmentalists and, as usual, does nothing to solve the actual problem.

   Our automobiles have become the basis for numerous taxes based on one simple premise that driving is a privilege and not a right.

   That statement is a myth. Driving is neither a privilege nor a right. It is a necessity, especially in a state as large as Texas that lacks quality public transportation.

   If driving is truly a privilege, why does everything rest on whether or not one owns a car? Sure, people can walk. But, how easily can one walk and carry a week’s worth of groceries?

   Many jobs require employees to own vehicles.

   So it is becoming pretty obvious that driving is necessary, and because of this, the state and federal governments can use it to their advantage.

   If we truly cared about our environment, we should actually do something concrete about it. To do something that bold would take leadership from a president who sorely lacks that quality.

   In the ’60s President Kennedy proclaimed that we would put a man on the moon by the end of the decade. At the time it was a bold statement coming from a nation that had finished last in every aspect of the space race. But, because of that promise and leadership, the American people pulled together and accomplished that goal, thus earning a place in history.

   Now, if only George W. would make such a statement concerning switching to an alternate form of fuel, rather than big oil which has financed most of his career.

   Such an act would take leadership and require a man of integrity. Sadly, we do not have that type of man in our highest office. If he were to do such a thing, it would be political suicide for him. It would also cost him money out his own pocket.

   Weaning ourselves from oil is really the only true way to get ourselves out of the messes we are in. First, it would help to clean our environment. Also, any alternate fuel almost certainly would be cheaper than the gasoline we currently pay an arm and a leg for.

   Third, we could end our entanglements with cruel Middle-Eastern regimes we rely on for our oil supply.

   If we had considered something that radical many years ago, maybe Sept. 11 would have never happened.

   The first solution would be to elect people who are actual leaders because it appears that we have been lacking those people for an entire generation.