To the Editor:
On Monday the school committee will be asked to decide on whether our young athletes play sports on natural turf or plastic. I urge the committee to vote in favor of health … health of our kids and health of our environment.
Troubling information about health consequences as well as environmental consequences continues to come forward. Why roll the dice on the backs of our young athletes? Why gamble on our precious Island ecosystem? There is no legitimate reason to do either.
Furthermore, the financial aspect of committing to artificial turf is fiscally irresponsible. We have a school in need of significant repairs and rebuilding. We have natural turf fields that have been neglected rather than maintained. Are we really going to try and keep up with off-Island communities because the plastic “looks good”? I sure hope not. On the Vineyard we are better than that.
Susan Desmarais
Oak Bluffs
