Readers sound off on climate action, Yevgeny Prigozhin and carriage horse opposition

Brooklyn: It is so encouraging that Arnold Schwarzenegger, the famed actor turned politician, speaks with such passion about climate change, as I read in “Arnold calls the fight against climate change his ‘crusade,’ ” (May 29).

People need to stop polluting, as it leads to climate change. I live in Gerritsen Beach, by the sea next to Marine Park in southern Brooklyn. When I go for my daily walk in the park, I see pieces of plastic everywhere, especially where the park meets the water. This is heartbreaking. The voice of Arnold, who founded the Schwarzenegger Climate Initiative, can help a lot.

People need to start thinking that nature and our relationship to the environment brought us to the point we are at today! People in the past saw that human beings drew strength and hope from various nonhuman animals, Schwarzenegger observed, and saw that ants teach, rats laugh and love to be tickled, elephants grieve, dogs have vocabularies, whales have accents, blue jays and honeybees plan ahead, cats love playing, squirrels adopt orphans, sheep don’t forget a face, crows improvise tools, etc. Also, these small observations offer a semantic and amorphous glimpse of where our abilities come from!

People like Schwarzenegger who try to save the environment for future generations or increase climate awareness within society need to be encouraged. We all need to listen and act. We are going to sweat blood if we don’t take climate change seriously. Myself, next time I enter my local park, I will have with me a big bag to start cleaning it up. Dimitris Eleas

Ridgewood, N.J.: Vladimir Putin’s problem is who can he trust? The rebellion must have had some support inside his inner circle. Until Putin finds the insiders who supported Yevgeny Prigozhin, he cannot rest. Ed Houlihan

Beechhurst: There’s a lot of fog surrounding the short-lived Wagner Group mutiny. Yevgeny Prigozhin, the boss of that vicious mercenary group, refused to sign a contract that would put his troops under the control of the Russian army. That illustrates that Putin’s army is a laughingstock compared to Gen. Georgy Zhukov’s army that beat back the Nazis in WWII. Apparently, Prigozhin’s ploy was an attempt to get Putin to buckle and name him as Russia’s new defense minister. But instead of heading to Moscow, he and his mutineers wound up in Belarus, where President Aleksandr Lukashenko, a staunch ally of Putin, interceded by getting Putin to drop his insurrection charge against the Wagner Group. But in light of Prigozhin’s debunking of Putin’s war as not one of “de-Nazification” but a war to enrich Russian elites, I think he’s a dead man walking. James Hyland

Londonderry, N.H.: It is hard to believe the head of the Wagner mercenary forces was stupid enough to launch a coup against Putin. He had to know it would fail against Putin’s entrenched government. I believe Putin, Prigozhin and Lukashenko of Belarus might have come up with a plan to try invading Ukraine again from Belarus. Lukashenko conveniently mediated the fake coup situation and offered Prigozhin safe exile. Once in Belarus, Prigozhin could have his 25,000 troops join him and they could lead a spearhead of forces from Belarus down route E-95 the 140 miles to Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, which was the primary objective of the Russian invasion in February 2022. The Ukrainians should prepare for this possibility. Donald Moskowitz

Dartmouth, Mass.: Dedicated young soldiers from both countries are forfeiting their lives for what ultimate purpose? All wars victimize the populations that are invaded, as well as the young men and women manipulated to believe that patriotism is far more important than their lives. Those who wage modern warfare only have their egos at stake, rarely their lives or resources. As the years pass, reconciliations and trading are revived or commenced — financial considerations obliterate the memories of lives and homes lost. Despite the declarations of the necessity of continuing this horrendous war on all sides, monetary gain is accreted to arms manufacturers, military careers are advanced and national leaders can appear tough or humane. Is there a real incentive to end this war? The human toll can not be rebuilt like devastated structures, cities and towns. All that will remain for the directly sacrificed is great heartache and unremitting animosity for the other side. Betty Ussach

Utica, N.Y.: In reply to brain-Trumped Voicer Bob Pascarella, who completely missed the point of the Trump indictments: Please take your head out of Trump’s behind. Believe it or not, we (most right-minded folks) don’t hate Trump. We hate the damage he did and may do again to this country, not to mention the many lives lost because of his incompetence. Francisco Matos

Manhattan: One of the New York City dailies runs stories, pictures and sometimes editorials on President Biden’s son Hunter daily. I don’t know what’s true and what’s conjecture about the reportage. But I suspect the paper has succeeded in portraying Hunter as a bad dude. They have spawned an attractive bad boy persona that some girls like and many guys like to hang out with. The tabloid has managed to accomplish the opposite of what it intended. Mark my conjecture a pretty good guess — as soon as the air clears, Hollywood will scarf up Hunter Biden and make a successful personality out of him thanks to that tabloid’s ruminations. James A. Fragale

Dobbs Ferry, N.Y.: It is clear that the disgraceful carriage horse industry remains untouchable in NYC because public sector unions have a hold over elected officials, as discussed in Elizabeth Forel’s op-ed “NYC must end its shameful carriage horse trade” (June 27). With the City Council and mayor afraid to stand up for fear of losing union support, I agree that the answer is to do a ballot initiative. I was involved with the 1997 project, gathering signatures of registered voters. It was empowering but unfortunately, we lost in court. Each time is a new opportunity and the citizens of NYC need to step in where our lawmakers have failed. Barbara Stagno

Toms River, N.J.: Can’t anyone play this game? On Sunday, I was watching “the Mess” playing baseball when I was transported back to the lovable 1960s Mets. These were not lovable. Many minor league teams play better. Bring back the ‘69 Mets. I hope to see a new team in spring training. Jeffrey Baer

Mount Vernon, N.Y.: I have been following the Medicare Advantage issue with rapt attention, as my mother is one of the oldest, if not the oldest, public library retirees. She is 107 and retired in 1981! She is in a nursing home, and that presents problems with this switch. Per the supposed benefits: There are financial rewards that can be considered income and taxable. And the co-pays! How does someone in a home afford them on a $50-per-month income that is supposed to cover day-to-day necessities? My mother worked for the library for 25 years. She sacrificed a better salary and other benefits to enter a system that guaranteed her health benefits so that she could maintain a degree of quality of life no matter how long she lived. There are many other ways to cut an inflated budget. Do not do this on the backs of those whose voices can not be heard! Leslie Alpert

Brooklyn: I pay an inspection fee, a tag renewal fee and registration fee for my vehicle but you’ve got guys zooming around on scooters all over the place with no tag, no registration sticker and I assume no inspection. They blow past stop signs, ride on sidewalks, trip red light and speed cameras and because they have no plates, the city loses that revenue. All this money is on the table! Mayor Adams, send out a PSA effective Jan. 1, 2024 (give ‘em enough time to save money) that anyone who has an unregistered, unlicensed moped shall have it seized and have one month to obtain the proper documents to operate said vehicle. If not, it gets the crusher. C. Johnson