Uinta oil transport threatens Colorado River Re: “Communities opposing proposed railroad,” Dec. 8 news story Utah oil and mining barons, along with the state of Utah, want the U.S. Supreme Court to rubber-stamp their plot to make millions at the expense of us in Colorado. They want to build the Uinta Basin Railway from the Uinta shale oil Basin in Utah to allow tanker car rail transport of heavy waxy crude oil through our state. Up to 10 two-mile-long trains per day would head east right along the Colorado River and then through Denver. All this waxy crude oil on railroad tanker cars would travel through Grand Junction and then along the Colorado River through Glenwood Canyon, the gorgeous Gore Canyon and finally through Denver. Just imagine melted wax getting into things in your home like carpet, etc. It is impossible to remove. That is just how a spill of this waxy oil would behave spilled into the Colorado. And when — not if — a train derailment spills loads of this stuff into the river, it is not a pretty thought about how you would ever get this congealed muck out of the river bottom, off rocks, etc. Hopefully, the Supreme Court will do what is best for the Colorado River, and not for Utah oil and gas barons looking to make the big bucks by allowing them to ignore the awful impacts of this scheme. Ed Talbot, Arvada Colorado River water usage downstream benefits us all Re: “Upper Basin should hold strong for more,” Dec. 14 letters to the editor The letter writers on the subject of Upper Basin vs. Lower Basin have missed the point. We here in Colorado may not be using all we are technically entitled to, but that brings us a wealth of benefits in other ways. California grows about half of the nation’s fresh produce and is the only place where these items grow: almonds, walnuts, pistachios, artichokes, celery, garlic, prunes, raisins, olives, cling peaches, nectarines, kiwi, pomegranates, honeydew, figs, plums, grapes, sweet rice, and lima beans. Additionally, it is a major producer of peppers, strawberries, pumpkins, and lettuce. Related Articles Letters | Letters: Oligarchy? Plutocracy? Co-president Musk? Denver Post readers question U.S. power structure Letters | Letters: Mayor Mike Johnston should weigh the costs of the migrant crisis Letters | Letters: Of course, Biden pardoned his son, and of course, it’s hypocritical Letters | Letters: Jared Polis under fire for his endorsement of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. for HHS Letters | Letters: People want extreme and radical solutions. The loser ignored that; the winner did not Do you want to claim all our share and give these things up? The “growth” our Western states covet (read “money”) means nothing without water, and water means little if it’s not producing food. Climate change is going to make agriculture even harder. If we don’t use everything we own, let’s give California a break and send them some, along with terms on conservation. This is what the negotiations between the seven states should look like when they meet, the fact that we are one nation, the United States. Let’s not destroy our food basket. Susan Williams, Lakewood Time change compromise: Give or take a half hour? President-elect Donald Trump has expressed interest in doing away with Daylight Saving Time. That is a fairly popular position among Americans, but they are divided between keeping standard time and keeping saving time. Countries such as Iran, India, and Myanmar have their time zones in the half-hour. This could be a means to satisfy everyone, splitting it fifty-fifty. We could set our clocks ahead half an hour, and leave them there forever. Those who want more evening daylight and those who want more morning daylight would each get half of their wish. This avoids the misery of resetting the clocks and satisfies everyone halfway. James (Jim) Kummer, Lakewood Sign up for Sound Off to get a weekly roundup of our columns, editorials and more. To send a letter to the editor about this article, submit online or check out our guidelines for how to submit by email or mail.