Opinion editor's note: Star Tribune Opinion publishes letters from readers online and in print each day. To contribute, click here.

•••

Dear Matt Birk: To her children, the most important thing their mother has ever done has been to bear them ("Birk stands by his abortion comments," July 21). But to the rest of the world it may well be something else. It matters more that Marie Curie was a scientist, that Ruth Bader GinsbUrg a Supreme Court justice, and, yes, that Peggy Flanagan the first Indigenous lieutenant governor in the state of Minnesota than that they were mothers.

Women are not just conduits for men to get into the world to do important things. Women are vehicles of greatness in and of themselves.

Julie Quinn, Le Center, Minn.

The "carbon border adjustment mechanism" (CBAM) wars are beginning, and most of us are unaware.

Canada and the European Union are exploring and implementing CBAM, and the U.S. needs to prepare. We are unusual among our allies in not having put a fee on carbon. The lack of a carbon fee gives U.S. manufacturers an advantage, since they do not have to pay that fee. CBAM is a tariff that will impose a tax on any manufacturer in a country (like the U.S.) without a carbon price, to level the playing field. These tariffs will be collected in countries that have a CBAM policy, and it is revenue that we in the U.S. will simply give up to other countries, even as our competitive advantage is eliminated.

The only way to fight this is with a price and CBAM of our own, and the good news is that, because U.S. manufacturing tends to be less carbon intensive than its competitors, we are well placed to win these CBAM wars, but only if we are willing to engage. There are many climate-friendly policies, like CBAM, that could be passed in the upcoming budget reconciliation bill, and the time to do this is immediately.

Once the August recess begins, it becomes extremely difficult to pass legislation, and the fear is that budget reconciliation will die without even getting a vote. As I write this, it is mid-July, which means we only have about two weeks left.

My own congressman, Dean Phillips, is one of the 175 members of Congress who have signed a letter to President Joe Biden highlighting the importance of passing budget reconciliation with a focus on climate.

Democracy requires an educated citizenry, and so please learn about CBAM and budget reconciliation, and please contact your members of Congress to urge passing of a budget reconciliation bill with strong climate provisions.

Scot Adams, Eden Prairie

•••

The Star Tribune editorial declaring that "climate change can no longer be ignored or subjugated to other issues" is particularly meaningful in the context of what is truly a global climate crisis ("Voters must put heat on Congress," July 20). Certainly the United States has a significant obligation to commit our country and our resources, likely at a justifiable cost, to do our part.

And the U.S. does contribute to per-capita carbon emissions, ranking 13th in the world, just above Canada and Australia with both China and Russia further down the list.

But even as we have lowered our emissions over the past few years, we still contribute about 14% of the world total, which clearly we need to address.

And if we put the heat on Congress and other levels of government, as you suggest, what can we expect from other global carbon emitters such as China (twice the total emissions the U.S.), India (about half of the total emissions of the U.S.), as well as Russia, Japan, Iran and the rest of the world?

If we can achieve the objective of doing our part with the necessary political boost from our electorate, what pressures exist on other countries for the same level of verifiable commitment?

This is a serious foreign policy issue for us that goes far beyond what we need to do domestically.

Jeffrey Peterson, Minneapolis

If Republicans take control of the House in November's midterm elections, they are expected to shut down the Jan. 6 committee ("Trump 'betrayed his oath,'" July 22). Some GOP leaders and members of Congress were involved in the plan to overturn the election from the start, others jumped on board to cover it up and try to save face. They are now up to their necks in lies and denial.

When and how can this end? The rank and file continue to be loyal to their party, since the party demands loyalty above all else, even when the evidence clearly shows that ethics and laws that protect our democracy were knowingly broken, and dereliction of duty was rampant. Some choose to not even look at the evidence, lest it sway their sense of duty to party. But the apparent plan to deny the outcome of the last U.S. presidential election involved very serious crimes and breeches of duty and trust. Are you really OK with being a part of that?

I implore those who vote Republican to do the right thing, be the voice of reason and take back control of the party. Demand that the party reverse course, right the ship and formally acknowledge what actually happened. It's time to start clean and move on. Do not re-elect those involved with or who continue to support the conspiracy. Your power is in your vote.

Sheila Loger, St. Paul

•••

As the GOP censures its truth-telling members like Arizona House Speaker Rusty Bowers and U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, it should remember its own birth after the collapse in the 1850s of the Whig Party. Like the GOP, the Whig Party had northern and southern factions, and a polarizing figure (Andrew Jackson) fueling arguments among its members. As the GOP seeks to rid itself of anyone who breaks rank around the polarizing figure of Donald Trump, it would do well to remember that political parties can collapse as a result of such behavior and that, as George Santayana famously wrote, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it."

Thomas Fisher, St. Paul

I do not have many clear memories of my single-digit years. There are a few. I remember laughing uproariously at the funny stories my dad told around the dinner table, like the time the steering wheel came off the post of the dilapidated jalopy he and a friend had taken for a spin. I remember how all the neighborhood kids would run to our house whenever they had a cut or nosebleed, and my mom would tend to them. I remember the time I deliberately tried to electrocute my younger brother by tricking him into sticking his thumb into the electric light socket above the laundry tub. But these remembrances stick out to me because there are so few that are so clear.

Still, I remember Kathy Plath and our first day of kindergarten. I remember seeing her cry at the end of our morning session when it was time to go home. I approached her and asked her what was wrong. Through her snuffles and tears, she told me she could not remember her way home. She had walked to school, as had I, but she forgot her address and how to get there. "Come home with me," I said. "My mom will get you home."

So we left and, hand in hand, walked to my house.

When we arrived, I explained what had happened and, sure enough, my mom did not disappoint. She knew exactly what to do. She called the school, got Kathy's address and phone number, phoned her mom and said we would drive her home when my dad came home with the car.

Never was there a girl happier to see her mother than Kathy was later that day. When we left her house, her mom bent down to me and said, "Thank you for walking my daughter home." She smiled, touched my face, and I felt like an action hero.

It was wonderful.

Maybe this day a little more kindness is what is most needed. Maybe joy in life is found when you and I reach out, show care and concern, and, hand in hand, walk each other home.

Jim Nelson, Minneapolis