Letters are posted as we receive them during the week, and before they are printed in the paper, so check back frequently to see new letters. If you'd like to send a letter to the editor, use this postmarks submission form, or email your letter directly to [email protected]. Thanks for your patience.

Dear Editor,
    Your recent article “Point Austin: Bag It” [News, Aug. 5] contained several claims that need clarification. The article mentions a recent article in Rolling Stone that makes inaccurate assertions about plastic-bag waste and recycling.
    Americans are participating in recycling programs that help reduce waste in a smart and successful way. In 2009, Americans recycled nearly 854 million pounds of plastic bags and wraps, and that number has doubled in the past nine years as a result of comprehensive education campaigns.
    Secondly, your article mentions the Brownsville model, explaining that the city is now cleaner. The truth is that banning one product does not impact litter, and there is no evidence that a ban reduces plastic-bag litter in any city. According to the San Francisco Streets Litter Re-Audit, July 4, 2008, after San Francisco’s ban, plastic-bag litter increased. We are all concerned about reducing litter, but banning or taxing plastic bags, which make up a fraction of a percent of total litter, will do nothing to address the problem.
    With advances in recycling, and with the implementation of more recycling programs, we will do more to reduce waste in our landfills and litter on our streets. Plastic recycling addresses all forms of plastic films, from newspaper wraps to dry cleaning bags as well as plastic grocery bags, making it a more comprehensive solution to litter and one that supports green American jobs and consumer choice, instead of punishing consumers and singling out one product.

Dear Editor,
    I have been trying to find a copy of the video shot at Joe Ely's Tornado Jam at Manor Downs on July 11, 1981, for many years now. We were standing just in front of the cameras for most of this show. Does anyone know who shot this footage and where I might find a copy?
    Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

Dear Editor,
    The impending total collapse of the global economy is a necessary event that should be welcomed by all who despise corruption and long for a better world.
    As a rapidly growing number of people can see, it serves a minority at the expense of the vast majority. It is an unfair and cruel system that must be eliminated and replaced with one that serves the majority.
    The money men and politicians on both sides of the aisle are in denial, looking for ways to prop up the failed system. Circumstances will soon force them to face reality. Everyone should get ready for some major, positive changes in the world. The important thing to bear in mind is that the collapse of the world's corrupt economic system is definitely a good thing. With each passing day, it grows more obvious that it is time to build a new world based upon the principles of justice, sustainability, and peace.

Dear Editor,
    Last week, a recalcitrant Congress finally raised the federal debt ceiling, but not before slashing several social welfare programs. Some conservative lawmakers announced a victory for fiscal responsibility. Now that the dust has settled, we can see just what their "fiscal responsibility" entails.
    My perspective is focused by my position as a graduate student at UT-Austin, but the effect of the bill on grad students is instructive. One immediate impact is that the federal government will no longer subsidize education loans for grad students. This means that graduates who require loans to cover some or all of their expenses will now have to make immediate payments against all interest accrued while still enrolled as students. Yet full-time graduate students have very limited earning power. In best-case scenarios, we are employed as teaching assistants and earn barely enough – sometimes not enough – to cover our costs. Many take low-paying service jobs to make ends meet. Graduate students are not averse to working hard – that is why we undertake seven-plus years of rigorous education at minimal/nonexistent pay, buoyed by the hopes that we will make a decent, but hardly extravagant, living as educators for the next generation.
    It may seem unfair for taxpayers to help shoulder graduate debt, but these cuts come when college expenses are already skyrocketing. Many enter graduate school with significant debt, even from paying in-state rates at public universities. As tuition climbs higher, all but the wealthiest students have to finance at least some of their education. However, after incurring substantial undergraduate debt, we discover these degrees are increasingly worthless. To wit, a recent New York Times article billed the "Master's as the New Bachelor's," citing how little employment advancement was gained from earning a bachelor's degree in most fields. After selling us expensive educations that give little edge in competitive job markets, it appears we are expected to return to those same universities on our own dime for the dwindling privilege of decent employment.
    Although the federal government expects to save $21 billion over the next 11 years from these cuts, only $4 billion will go toward paying down the deficit. Limiting access to education can only harm the economy in the long-term. So the next time a lawmaker declares a victory for fiscal responsibility, understand the hidden costs: cuts to programs that benefit hardworking Americans while failing to address the truly unsustainable revenue shortfalls driving the deficit.

Dear Editor,
    Michael King's response to Bill Bunch's letter is another hit in the war being waged against "Austin environmentalists" [“Postmarks,” Aug. 5].
    This is a complex issue that cannot be conveyed in cynical sound bites. As such, I have a problem with a few of Michael's "facts."
    Yes, the Green Water Treatment Plant has been decommissioned. No one is disputing that. Has that caused any lack of water for Austin? No, it hasn't. In fact, water treatment capabilities have been increased by partially renovating one of the other water plants, as well as through water conservation.
    Yes, the two functioning water treatment plants are aging. Is Michael implying that the city of Austin is not properly maintaining these facilities? Just because a facility is aging does not imply that it needs replacing. No evidence that these plants are failing has been presented. The city of Austin saves money by using older facilities that are still in good shape as opposed to building very expensive new ones unnecessarily.
    At the public hearing before the Austin City Council voted to proceed with Water Treatment Plant No. 4 late last year, many Austinites gave intelligent comment as to why the building of WTP4 should be postponed. Despite the fact that not one private citizen spoke in favor of the project and three citizens advisory panels did not approve aspects of the project, City Council approved to move forward by a vote of 4-3. The one City Council member who cast the affirmative vote that faced re-election this year was soundly defeated.
    Will delaying the construction of WTP4 cost more money than it will save? That is exactly what the recent City Council vote was meant to resolve. It was not a vote to kill the project. Implying that it somehow was, as Michael continues to do, is not a "fact."
    A large community of "Austin environmentalists" in addition to Bill Bunch are concerned that building WTP4 will raise our water rates, including four members of the current City Council. This is not about Bill Bunch's "imagination" or Michael King's wounded ego. The issue is that building WTP4 before its capacity is needed will make serious water conservation efforts less affordable, at the same time requiring the city of Austin to sell more water to pay for the increased capacity, at a time when the best scientific evidence says that our climate is about to get a lot hotter and dryer. And neither Austin nor Texas nor the USA is yet doing nearly enough to change that scientific prediction.

   [Michael King responds: To claim that "no private citizens" have spoken in favor of the plant is simply false, unless "private citizen" is defined to mean, "people who agree with Craig Nazor."]

Dear Editor,
    FYI on the grocery bag story [“Point Austin: Bag It,” News, Aug. 5]: The "canvas" bags you report being sold at 99 cents are actually plastic. Look at the tag sewn inside: Made in China; 100% Polypropylene. They are recyclable, as they don't clog the machinery.
    I could make a fortune if I could design a machine that didn't clog from "normal" bags.

   [Editor's note: The "Point Austin" column did not address specific reusable bags, as these vary widely in materials and cost.]

Dear Editor,
    I was surprised to see Sam McCandless claiming to be a "resident rock star" at Natural Ear Music School ["Off the Record," Music, Aug. 5], as he was fired midway through his only camp session for incompetence and destruction of school property several years ago. He might win the award for the worst teacher ever. I wish you'd check with me before using my school's reputation to boost another rip-off of Natural Ear Music Inc. As for John Moyer's participation with Sam, that might be, but I doubt it. I talked to John last week (he is out on tour with Disturbed), and he is ready to assume the directorship at the new location (TBA) of our Westbank branch. I am still the mayor of Liberty Hill, and I am having a great time, kicking ass and taking names. Not much different than running a rock camp … but it doesn't leave much time for Austin. Thanks to my Facebook friends, I was alerted to this blatant attempt to hijack my school's reputation for excellence. I guess I'll take it as a compliment, but you shouldn't print lies, dude.

   [Austin Powell replies: As I told Mike during our correspondence earlier this week, we had no reason to believe that Sam McCandless' tenure at Natural Ear Music School ended on these terms and have since reached out to his handlers for comment, though none has come back. Moyer was referenced as a means of highlighting some of the other prominent musicians from the metal genre that have relocated to Austin. As was to be noted in "Off the Record" this week, Natural Ear has closed its St. Elmo Road Music Lab location at press time.]

Dear Editor,
    In light of the Chronicle cutting back on the amount of letters published I am posting on two items from last week's Chronicle in one letter.
    The Austin Facial Hair Club's motto should be "Keeping Austin Beard" [“Where the Beards Are,” Screens, Aug. 5].
    Second was the "Bag It" article [“Point Austin: Bag It,” News, Aug. 5]. Just recently on the news I saw a story about some city attempting the same thing. The story was about a group of protesters outside a retail business. As an innocent woman was exiting the store with her purchase in a plastic bag, the group ascended upon her with shouts of derision. All the protesters were old, dried-up hags wearing tie-dye. These uptight biddies should form a group and call themselves "Bags Against Bags."

Dear Editor,
    As I was (not) enjoying my nightly descent into the doldrums (aka, reading as much as I can on al Jazeera before I have to vomit), I came across an article about the upcoming peaceful protest of the proposed tar sands pipeline in D.C. I haven't been reading the Chronicle religiously of late, so I'm not sure whether this has been given any coverage. Just in case, though, I wanted to point out the way (www.tarsandsaction.org) to any who might be interested in joining this ambitious civil disobedience project (Aug. 20-Sept. 3). I've spent the last hour researching last-minute air fares and consulting my inner guru in order to decide if it might be feasible for me to participate. As a nursing mother, I've made the tough decision that my role won't be as active as I'd like. But perhaps you can go for me. And, Chronicle, if you haven't yet run a story, would you mind doing so?

Dear Editor,
    Obama's no hero. No line in the sand. Just like my dad, he's a grownup man surrounded by angry, greedy infants of the revolutionary left and right. In my dad's day it was the communist inspired integration plot. Just like Obama, my dad did what he could do, and then moved onto the next thing.
    In this country ideology and idiocy always run together, but the sane usually prevail. Ensconced in Social Security and state retirement, hopefully I will be long gone before the safety net is shredded. Not being particularly mature, I plan to get in touch with my inner child and enjoy watching how deep the new anti-government people bury their snouts in the government trough. Gov. Perry's head disappeared years ago, and he shows no sign of coming up for air.
    In Texas the loudest yelps for freedom always come from the likes of Perry and the slave driver progeny. From my pale perspective it seems kind of hilarious. (For the less pale, not so much.)
    Quite possibly the rest of the country is ready for more of the Texas-style freedom they enjoyed under Bush. Or just maybe, Perry will be freed from the shackles of government and Texas will be freed from the shackles of Perry in one fell swoop. (Might this be the giddiness that precedes despair and catastrophe? Nah.)
    At some point I will probably set aside childish elderly thoughts and knock on some doors with my union. For lefty friends: It is my shame to be so fond of Obama, and it is not my virtue to amend it. Bred to the bone I guess. See you out there?