In the past 100 years, American science has been responsible for the inventions and scientific breakthroughs that have lengthened our lives and have given us a high standard of living.

An abundance of fossil fuel has also helped, but that era is coming to an end. Some of our elite leaders believe in using science to make informed judgments, but while eight of l0 present leaders of China have PhDs, only about 1 percent of our Congressmen do.

A large percentage of those working in Silicon Valley research and medical research are former foreign students from India and China. In math, the average Chinese is more knowledgable than the average American and the gap grows yearly.

Global warming is real. The use of fossil fuel must be radically reduced. Wind and solar are the foreseeable future.

China is the world’s leader in the use of renewable energy and batteries and controls almost all of the rare earth used in our most sophisticated electronic devices.

Their citizens also save a high percentage of their salaries while we always have to have the newest gadget and seldom save for a lengthening retirement. So, they have the money to invest while we only hope for the best or government or God to bail us out in the future.

I enjoy our freedom and appreciate what our forebears and a friendly environment and abundant natural resources have done for us.

I hope we will welcome the foreign graduates of our finest universities as citizens, but sad to say, put your money on China, unless America comes to base many more of its decisions on scientific reality, and gets serious about education and investment in its future.

As a people, I don’t think we are ready for the challenge.

Gordon Liddle

Winchester