<Author>Michael</Author>
<Topic>Letter to the Newspaper Editor on the Energy Crisis</Topic>
<Source></Source>
<Nationality>USA</Nationality>
Dear Editor,
We are all aware that our city has been hit very hard by an energy crisis recently. Several times we have had brown outs, where the electricity has been shut off for three or four hours at a time, because too many air conditioners were operating in businesses and in our homes because of the heat. We are aware that energy costs have gone up greatly this summer. Having the electricity off for three or four hours wont destroy what we have in our refrigerators and freezers if we are careful, but it is very troublesome. Since I teach at the university, this means that we have no lights in our classrooms when we are regularly teaching classes during these brown out periods.
It also means that our libraries, laboratories, and computer rooms cant function. In a three or four hour period, our classrooms start to get hot, and then we have to run the air conditioners even lower for the temperature when the electricity is turned on again.
All of the readers of your newspaper must he concerned as it affects the quality of their lives directly. There are many old people alone in houses or apartments who have no lights or fans or air conditioners operating during these brown outs. It may cause them ill health, and certainly will make them nervous or worried about the situation. Schools cannot operate after school programs, which means that the children will come home early to empty houses if their parents are at work or gone. The recreation centers must close. Offices cannot function in the late afternoon periods. Traffic lights will not work, which may cause accidents. Even the hospitals must turn on emergency generators to conduct their usual care of patients.
These regular brown outs are in fact a disaster for the usual life of our city. Readers should call the Governors office so that the state will take every possible step to prevent this sort of problem from continuing on a regular basis this summer. I urge all readers of this letter to contact the mayor, their city council, their state legislators, and to send protests about the effects of this energy crisis to the national energy offices so that we can immediately correct this situation.
Michael Prosser
