The Nov. 4 editorial page (Page A4), and news articles on the facing page (Page A5), taken together, describe the frightening consequences when safety warnings are ignored.

Perhaps 346 lives might have been spared had Boeing executives reacted to the email from a 737 Max test pilot questioning the reliability of a new guidance system in 2016; or, failing that, had executives immediately grounded the entire fleet following the first fatal crash (“Another View: Learning lessons from Boeing’s turbulence,” Page A4).

The news story just opposite the above guest editorial (“EPA to relax rules for disposal of power plant waste”) references coal ash spills during the last decade in Tennessee and North Carolina. These sudden torrents of toxic sludge destroyed nearby homes, endangered cleanup workers and poisoned local rivers.

Many other such toxic waste pools around the U.S. pose similar risks to nearby residents and waterways at a time when frequent, abnormal climate events will likely trigger similar disastrous events. And the same type of insidious environmental and human health catastrophes are waiting to happen when dozens of toxic mine waste lagoons throughout the West break out from the failure of containment dams up to years after mine closures.

There are many ways that shortsighted greed and human irresponsibility will further endanger human health, but on a far broader scale, yet another news story on Page A5 (“Trump finally has opening to pull U.S. out of Paris climate pact”) again reminds us of the dangers of ignoring warning signs.

James H. Maier, M.D.

Falmouth

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