Editor,

Jessie Stensland’s May 31 article regarding the benefits of building the new ferries locally included a troubling element: local officials had commented that the costs of construction are greater here than in Florida, because of “higher living-wage jobs” and “more onerous” environmental regulations in Washington. I assume that Ms. Stensland was accurately reporting the officials’ comments.

Dictionaries define onerous as “troublesome, oppressive, or burdensome; the disadvantages outweigh the advantages.” I would suggest a more accurate descriptor for higher living wages and stricter environmental regulations would be “protective” or “visionary.” Our shared goals certainly must be to protect our home, the Earth, and one another, now and in the future.

As the increasing frequency of disasters caused by climate change demonstrates, the true cost of disregarding these essential values is incalculable. We have barely begun to see the far-reaching destructive effects of the Department of Government Efficiency’s chainsaw.

OSHA/ WISHA regulations can be frustrating to implement, but they are put in place to prevent deaths and injuries in the workplace. Removing existing protective policies and regulations in the name of efficiency is short-sighted, dangerous and clearly driven by greed.

I hope the unnamed local officials will re-examine their priorities and keep the public’s current and long-term best interests front and center.

Mel Trenor

Langley