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2 of 3 Premium Clicks used this month SUBSCRIBE Print + Online Subscriber Activation | Register x Forgot Password | Need an Account? subscribe | newsletter | deals Classifieds Jobs Autos Real Estate FEATURED » NEWS NOW Man arrested for allegedly exposing self at Ashland Dutch Bros. ... Our View: Watts up Saturday ... Guest Opinion: Glyphosate poses health risks ... Man arrested for allegedly exposing self at Ashland Dutch Bros. ... Our View: Watts up Saturday ... Guest Opinion: Glyphosate poses health risks ... LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Letters to the Editor, Aug. 21 Comment DailyTidings.com Writer Posted Aug. 21, 2015 at 12:01 AM Posted Aug. 21, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Social News Build a train station In regard to the article in the Tidings Aug. 13 regarding cleaning up the Union Pacific railroad site and the succinct guest opinion by Steve Belsky, Aug. 15, I have an idea. Let's get passenger trains running again and plop a train station on the site, and cleanup will not be necessary! Everyone saves money, time and effort digging a hole, putting up more toxic dust for Ashlanders to breathe, not to mention 4,400 diesel truck loads hauling it all away to where? This would be better for our ailing planet's future anyway. Just make CORP, or is it Union Pacific, guarantee passenger trains along with a station, and we'll keep the dirt as is. Sally McKirgan Ashland Use care with weeds I enjoyed Rhonda Nowack's column about weeds this past Sunday. And I appreciate her sentiment, since many people depend on pesticides such as glyphosate, aka Roundup, for weeds. People use it thinking it is benign and short-term. However, the opposite is true. The toxicity of glyphosate is finally being publicized after the World Health Organization recently reported that glyphosate is a Class 2 "probable carcinogen."  http://bit.ly/1x9hNIN Many additional articles about the dangers of glyphosate to human, insect and soil life are available online, including ones by the Institute of Responsible Technology and Dr. Mercola. EPA is investigating the product’s impact on 1500 insects. Another recent study documented glyphosate's direct correlation to navigational issues of honeybees. Pulling, chopping, sheet mulching and eating (by goats or people!) are the best ways to deal with “weeds”. But there are non-synthetic, nontoxic methods available, such as vinegar, salt, acetic acid, plant oils, etc. However, understanding the benefits of so-called weeds is also crucial, and sadly lacking in our culture. For multiple reasons, I rarely pull dandelions, plantain and dock, and even leave vetch and chicory until they start going to seed. R.B. Reif Ashland Connect the dots It’s time to connect the dots. It’s hot again; there’s an extreme heat advisory; we have forest fires with smoke-laden air pollution. Air pollution includes fine airborne particles coming from automobiles and forest fires. Long-term exposure causes chronic cardiovascular and respiratory diseases (including COPD). Extended, extreme high temperatures cause heat exhaustion and/or heat stroke and even death, especially for infants, children and adults 65 and over. Our region seems to be changing from what it once was. Are we really going to experience increased temperatures, reduced snowpack by 90 percent, increased wildfires, reduced water availability and increased drought throughout the Rogue Basin? Will these conditions be accompanied by diminished forest and expanded grassland and scrubland with more soil erosion and increased bacterial and water-borne disease? Can we no longer rely on past patterns? Do we need to understand and respond to the trends and projections? Are you puzzled by our recent climate trends? Do you want to know if there is anything we can do? Consider joining Southern Oregon Climate Action Now ( www.socan.info ) in addressing these issues by attending Our Critical Climate: Trends, Impacts & Solutions — A Rogue Basin Summit, Oct. 13 and 14 at Inn at the Commons ( www.socanclimatesummit.info ). Louise Shawkat  Ashland DailyTidings.com Writer Posted Aug. 21, 2015 at 12:01 AM » Comment or view comments Reader Reaction » STAY INFORMED Email NewsLetter Sign Up Today Sign up for our newsletter and have the top headlines from your community delivered right to your inbox. Southern Oregon Directory Featured Businesses Loading... 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