Letters to the Editor | Aug. 11, 2025

The Washington Post recently reported that the European Union is now generating three-quarters of its electricity from nonfossil fuel sources, and China has begun making “massive” investments in renewable energy. With other governments following suit, the march toward a world energy market that doesn’t rely on fossil fuels is well underway. Meanwhile, in response to pressure from Big Oil, the U.S. government is eliminating incentives and canceling existing investments in renewable energy. Today, the U.S. is the world’s biggest producer of oil and gas, but the future is clear, and by choosing to invest in the past, our shortsighted politicians are about to turn us into the biggest loser.

Jacques Gordon, Devon

Every person living in this great country needs to decide what they want America to be, stand for, and look like on the other side of this regime. The Trump Party certainly and clearly knows what it wants it to be and is trying to get there at an unprecedented speed. Armed, masked agents are rounding up immigrants in the name of cleansing our country. Some of them are here legally, most of them are hardworking contributors to our communities. The authorities don’t care who they arrest. They just want us to see it as normal. Is this the America we want? If not, now is the time to find our voice.

They yell and scream about “woke” and “cancel culture,” but at the same time threaten the media, universities, and law firms with defunding and financial ruin if they don’t capitulate to Donald Trump. They really don’t care who they are controlling as long as we start to see it as normal. Is this the America we want? If not, now is the time to use our voice. There are many other ways they are trying to change the country I love and make it all seem normal. I will use my voice to stand up for my America. Will you use yours?

Ellen McGuigan, Clarks Summit, Pa.

As a pediatric resident in Philadelphia, I’ve seen the painful consequences of families struggling to afford utilities. I cared for a young boy who burned himself on an oven door left open for heat, and a toddler who fell from a window propped open on a sweltering summer day. During my second year of residency, a young family somewhat quietly asked me to complete Peco’s medical certification form — a document medical professionals can submit to delay shutoffs or restore services — to keep power on for their newborn baby. Until then, I hadn’t realized physicians could essentially prescribe electricity. It felt surreal to use my medical license to argue with a major corporation that children deserve safe, livable homes.

Peco’s new relief fund is an admirable step, but it underscores the need for sustained, year-round support for vulnerable families. As climate change drives more extreme heat and cold, access to electricity is not a seasonal issue — it’s a matter of child health and safety. Power companies must continue to support low- and middle-income families through flexible payment plans, emergency grants, and protections from shutoffs. Electricity is not a luxury — it’s a lifeline.

Helen O’Donnell, Philadelphia

We recently had a kidnapping in our neighborhood in Germantown. One of our business owners, who recently started a restaurant, building up our community and bringing jobs to our area, was taken by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). People in the area are in an uproar. I have not seen this news in The Inquirer. I am a Catholic, and Philadelphia Archbishop Nelson Pérez recently wrote a letter telling us that we are one with those immigrants seeking to live in and contribute to the well-being of our community. He urged us to advocate for immigration policies that respect human dignity and help those working toward citizenship. They are our brothers and sisters. What am I to do?

What is particularly disconcerting is that President Donald Trump constantly claims to have a mandate from us to undertake these brutal raids on our innocent neighbors and friends and lock them up without any due process. I bet most people of faith feel betrayed that what was promised to make us safer has become a tool for terrorizing anyone or group who disagrees with this president and his Project 2025 gang. No one feels safe now. I would urge all people of faith and decency to demand that the president cease these immoral practices. Then he can do what he originally promised: to deport only violent criminals and focus on developing pathways to citizenship.

Tom Volkert, Philadelphia

This year marks 70 years since the Philadelphia Athletics moved and played their first game in Kansas City, Mo., 54 years after their humble Philadelphia beginning in 1901. They would leave Philadelphia as the only team to be a professional dynasty in the city. And almost twice. The Athletics won the World Series three times (1911, 1912, and 1913). They would be victorious in the Fall Classic once again in 1929 and 1930, falling short in 1931. The next closest dynasty in Philadelphia would emerge seven years before the Athletics played their last game in town. Reminiscent of the Eagles’ Super Bowl LVII bid, in 1948 the team fell in the championship game to the Chicago Cardinals, despite a furious, incredible comeback, 28-21. That Eagles team would go on to win the crown twice (in 1948 and 1949).

All that to say that the talent needed to win multiple titles is here in Philadelphia once again. The Eagles began training camp with the opportunity of moving yet closer to becoming not only Philadelphia’s greatest football franchise ever, but one of the best in NFL history, having just won Super Bowl LIX and winning the NFC championship two years prior. While the question of whether they can remains to be seen, the question of whether they have the talent? That isn’t even a question.

Michael Thomas Leibrandt, Abington Township

Pennsylvania public schools continue to fail kids with special needs. According to recent coverage by The Inquirer, school districts spend millions of dollars each year to send these special-education students to private schools. In a Right-to-Know request, the Commonwealth Foundation obtained data revealing that the Philadelphia School District spent more than $35 million to send 681 students to non-district schools — more than double the commonwealth’s per-pupil spending. School districts don’t — and can’t — serve every kid. And families continue to demonstrate their discontent with public education by voting with their feet.

Nationally, public school enrollment has lost more than one million students since 2019, while more families have turned to charter schools, private schools, and homeschooling. There’s a simple solution: provide educational choice scholarship accounts to low-income families. Currently, at least 15 states have adopted scholarships or Education Savings Accounts specifically for kids with special needs, enabling families to afford schools that serve their unique needs. These scholarships would be more equitable than settlements that don’t address the deeper systemic flaws inherent in public schools. Pennsylvania must follow suit and ensure our neediest students aren’t left behind.

Andrew J. Lewis, president and CEO, Commonwealth Foundation

Join the conversation: Send letters to letters@inquirer.com. Limit length to 200 words and include home address and day and evening phone number. Letters run in The Inquirer six days a week on the editorial pages and online.