Noel needs tutoring | The Salt Lake Tribune

This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

Thanks, Paul Rolly, for the reporting on the statement by Rep. Mike Noel, R-Kanab, to a pro-environment witness: "I just want to know why she hates my grandkids and kids down there so they can't get any jobs down there" ("Noel bullies a witness," Tribune, March 11).

Last April, Noel introduced me in Richfield by saying my environmental activism makes it difficult for his 18 grandchildren to find jobs. He's concerned with jobs in southern Utah. So am I.

Utah needs stable, rewarding, sustainable jobs for today's 21st-century economy. Noel's "jobs" are based on 18th-century assumptions of infinite air, water and land. We now know the world is finite. Responsible grandparents should protect the land and environment for our progeny.

Before I ran (unsuccessfully!) for Congress, I taught engineering at the University of Utah and did volunteer energy and biotechnology workshops for The Leonardo.

Eighteen is a perfect number for one of my hands-on workshops on science, biotechnology and energy. I'd love to work with Noel and his 18 grandchildren in a workshop, perhaps in Kanab in May during Amazing Earthfest.

Let's discover and discuss principles, opportunities and possibilities in a range of areas of science, engineering and economics.

Joe Andrade

Salt Lake City