I would like to thank the Dania Beach City Commission, Broward County Planning Council and Broward County Commission for voting to protect environmentally sensitive land where mangroves near Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport are threatened by development.

I hope this marks a new consciousness among elected officials on the need to protect our natural defenses. They are essential. These parcels were designated as such for a reason, and there is absolutely no reason to strip away those protections, which are needed now more than ever.

Broward residents did an amazing job contacting officials and voicing their opinions. Meetings can be hard to attend but many still showed up, and many more wrote to their representatives. Our voices matter. Many thanks to Brenda Lee Chalifour for organizing and getting the word out.

Developers have been prioritized far too long. Mangroves are vital solutions to rising waters and flooding. Manmade solutions cost billions and will not protect future generations in perpetuity. Our natural defenses such as mangroves and dunes must be fortified — not destroyed.

Continue to write letters to the editor and to your elected officials and thank them when they do the right thing for our communities. And when you vote, remember their votes on environmental issues. We matter. Our children matter.

— Sylvia Meyer, Hollywood

The writer is conservation co-chair of Broward Sierra Group, Sierra Club.

Drivers who can’t drive

Thank you for reporting the opinions of Florida voters on issues before the Legislature (“Poll finds Florida voters disapprove of ICE, divided over Trump handling of immigration,” March 9).

I notice many people favor requiring people to take Florida driver’s license exams only in English. I find it interesting because I am a driver in South Florida, where in the past week alone, I have dealt with elderly drivers driving on the wrong side of the road or stopping in traffic to change lanes or driving with a door open.

I don’t recall anyone threatening my safety by not knowing how to speak English. Maybe we should require drivers to be re-tested at a certain age.

— Kenneth Williams, Delray Beach

A war with no plan

A recent letter to the editor chided the Sun Sentinel’s “hysterical editorial advancing spurious and conflicting theories about Trump’s motivation in waging war.”

The writer said that challenging the Trump administration’s decision to undertake war is legitimate, but employing scattershot and dubious allegations against the president is not.

Perhaps if we had a president and an administration that was scrupulous and forthcoming, it would be unnecessary for anyone to speculate about the motivations for starting an unauthorized war.

In the face of Trump’s inability to articulate a coherent plan while floating numerous rationales on the reasons for our invasion, it is easy to see that the only ones employing scattershot and dubious allegations are those responsible for this mess.

We can only hope and pray that whatever their plan for this war, the result is better than the plan for health care, tariffs and invading U.S. cities with ICE agents.

— Lawrence M. Kopelman, Esq., Plantation

Shipwrecked at sea

A U.S. submarine sank an Iranian frigate. The Geneva Conventions says nations have a duty to take all possible measures to rescue victims of shipwrecks. The U.S. did not, and Sri Lanka rescued the survivors.

Was this a war crime?

Evidently, neither the Geneva Conventions nor the U.S. Constitution mean anything to the current administration, including Pete Hegseth.

— Pat Eland, Delray Beach

Please submit a letter to the editor by email to letterstotheeditor@sunsentinel.com or fill out the online form below. Letters may be up to 200 words and must be signed with your email address, city of residence and daytime phone number for verification. Letters will be edited for clarity and length.