Underage drinking, drug overdoses, renewable energy

We make it easy for kids to get alcohol

Underage drinking is not new but gets minuscule attention compared with the damage it can — and does — cause to developing brains and bodies [“DWI arrests for drivers under 21 increasing,” News, March  31].

Decades of documented research report alcohol as the No. 1 drug of choice for those under the age of 21 and yet we make it so easy for kids to get. The so-called modernization of alcohol regulations in New York State has only made it even easier: alcohol “to go” without food, increased hours of sales, and additional venues where alcohol can now be sold.

Communities make it easy by considering underage drinking an expected rite of passage with lack of enforcement of existing laws.

And so many families make it easy, too, by not talking (often enough) with their kids about alcohol and by having unsecured alcohol in their homes and beer in the fridge next to the milk.

Make no mistake about it: This is not a child’s problem; it is an adult problem. Anywhere and anyplace that a child is drinking alcohol, an adult usually is involved somewhere: providing it, selling it, allowing it, or simply looking away.

 — Judi Vining, Long Beach

The writer is director of Long Beach AWARE, a state-funded nonprofit dedicated to preventing underage drinking and substance abuse.

Drug treatment has barriers to climb

The article “Treatment and prevention help LI reduce drug overdose toll” [News, March 29] highlights a welcome decline in drug deaths. Still, the numbers remain alarming: 341 deaths in Suffolk County and 171 in Nassau County in 2024, even after a significant drop from 2023.

Expanded use of Narcan, greater awareness of fentanyl’s dangers, and increased treatment options are making a difference. However, the crisis is far from over.

Too often, treatment beds go unused due to funding gaps, delays in referrals from health care and criminal justice systems, and stigma that discourages individuals and families from seeking help. At Outreach Development Corp., beds are available for teens, young adults, and women on Long Island, yet too many in need still face barriers to accessing care.

Government officials, community leaders, and families must act with urgency by ensuring adequate funding and connecting people to treatment without delay. Lives depend on it.

 — Christal Montague, Brentwood

The writer is chief strategy and growth officer for Outreach Development Corp., a nonprofit providing substance abuse treatment and recovery services.

We must admit need for renewable energy

I dream of a day when people do not make misleading arguments or cherry-pick facts about renewable energy [“Markets shape energy policy better than laws,” Musings, March  30].

We cannot just let market forces work. Extreme weather events are already bringing misery to all. Remember Superstorm Sandy? We must mitigate climate change.

Fossil fuel companies get over $30 billion in U.S. subsidies per year. The idea that only renewables are subsidized is false.

The use of drones for warfare against high-value energy infrastructure would also target fossil-fuel-fired power plants. Should we knock them down so our enemies don’t target them?

The letter stated that New York State has half the global emissions of China. So, our actions don’t matter? As of 2025, New York has 20 million residents while China has 1.4 billion. Since we are emitting considerably more per person, our efforts would be even more effective.

When the opinion of a single person atop the government ladder disagrees with 97% of the world’s climate change scientists — experts who have spent decades studying climate change — the scientists’ body of work should carry more weight in determining our government’s actions.

Finally, if action is not taken to reduce emissions, that would be immoral because unnecessary illnesses, deaths and disasters will follow.

 — Karen Zilber, Kings Park

Legislation is necessary in some cases regarding energy policy.

A prime example is the use of lead. Without legislation, we would still be incurring deaths, illnesses, and developmental disabilities from lead poisoning. The use of lead in leaded gasoline, lead plumbing, and lead paint continued long after its toxicity was known. It took legislation and regulation to reduce the amount of lead in the air we breathe and the water we drink.

 — Stanley Kalemaris, Melville

Don’t fund NPR, PBS with taxpayer money

I find it appalling that any taxpayer money should fund NPR and PBS [“Judge blocks Trump’s order to end NPR funding,” Nation, April 1]. I’m not saying this because I feel they are liberally biased.

Not every taxpayer listens to NPR or watches PBS. Instead of burdening all of us, if their private donations are not enough to sustain their organizations, then allow advertisers to place ads and pay them.

When you think of the endless hours these stations spend asking viewers for donations every year, I think the time would be better spent running ads and accepting money from advertisers. It would be one less tax we Americans have to bear.

 — Geraldine T. Quinn, Smithtown