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State PG&E takeover
isn’t in the cards
Writers Mari Rose Taruc and Shaina Nanavati fantasize over the state taking over PG&E (“California Should Bury PG&E, not just its power lines,” Page A12, Aug. 8).
Their idea that each community could provide sufficient power with its own wind and solar would not eliminate the need for backup power via transmission lines when there is no sun and wind. State legislators have no interest in being on the hook for spending hundreds of billions to clear the forest and to underground power lines.
The best near-term hope for clean energy in California is using the hydrogen/solar cycle to produce clean electrical power. Such facilities can produce excess hydrogen on sunny days as a form of inexpensive energy storage.
Ed Kahl
Woodside
Billions committed, but
water projects are scarce
Re. “Battle looms over state water rights,” Page A13:
No one knows how long this current drought will last. The print and telecast media are full of reports telling us just how bad it is but not a word about what projects are in the works.
What I do know is that the politicians in Sacramento seem to be doing nothing to alleviate the problem now or in the future. The only thing that will happen with arguing over long-held water rights is that lots of lawyers will get to submit billable hours. One wonder what happened with the billions of dollars we passed for water projects.
Until state legislators break free from the idea that we can survive on just the water that falls within our state borders, we will all suffer.
Tom Spink
Sunnyvale
Newsom’s arrogance
may cost him his job
If Gov. Newson is recalled, it’s not because he had a maskless dinner at a fancy French restaurant. It’s because he’s the poster child for arrogant elite Democratic politicians who have turned California into the laughing-stock of the world.
A tidal change is necessary to regain our image and respect. To start with, our once-great state needs an unpretentious leader who inspires people to come together for the greater good and doesn’t believe every problem is solved by finding another way to tax its citizens.
If there is such a willing candidate up for the challenge, I believe they will not be from the ranks of politicians and celebrities.
Dick Yaeger
Sunnyvale
Two-meter system could
fix PG&E net metering
Re. “Reducing solar incentive hurts green energy push,” Page A6, Aug. 6:
Net metering is an unworkable system.
Assume everyone installed solar and everyone had a net-zero usage. No one would pay the power company anything, but everyone would want the power company to maintain the lines, do the paperwork, and store the extra power from the daytime so that it was available at night.
They should have used a two-meter system, charging for what you use, paying market rate for what you feed back. The problem will only get worse the longer they delay the fix.
Max Steinke
San Jose
GOP aversion to truth
extends to socialism
The Stanford professor who thinks Republicans misunderstand socialism (“GOP take on socialism narrow and unhelpful,” Letters to the Editor, Page A6, Aug. 6) needs to come down out of her ivory tower once in a while.
She writes as if a little history lesson about the positive examples of social programs benefiting people in the United States and around the world will suddenly bring Republicans into the light.
Decrying “socialism” is a core principle in the disinformation campaign of the Republican Party. They know exactly what they’re doing, and they don’t give a damn. The party of no, which is exactly the only thing they have going for them, will not be deterred by a little truth.
The Talking Heads famously sang, “We’re on a road to nowhere.” The Republicans should consider adopting it as their true anthem.
Eugene Ely
San Jose
Window closing to act
on climate change
We are in Year 2 of the Nature Conservancy’s Determining Decade, a short window of time when we must reduce carbon emissions by half to avoid catastrophic damage to Earth’s fragile systems.
Kudos to the Mercury News for publishing daily climate news. Unfortunately, the GOP and many voters have not woken to the climate crisis bearing down on us. Every election will be crucial to massing the political power to fight climate change. Vote to stop the recall of Gov. Newsom and vote out climate deniers. Contact your senators and tell them that you want a price on carbon, the single most effective tool to quickly reduce emissions. Price pressure leads to efficiency and innovation as during the 70s oil embargo when fuel-efficient cars were quickly adopted. Send a strong message that equivocation is no longer an option.
Lisa Oliver
Milpitas
Patriotism is more
than flag-waving
Marc A. Thiessen once again displays his ignorance about political issues with regards to patriotism in his op-ed, “Ignore the malcontent Olympians and just celebrate Team USA” (Page A13, August 8).
Patriotism involves more than just loving your country; it involves loving your country and wanting your country to improve. And the U.S. Olympic athletes who protested at the Olympics, or “malcontent Olympians” as Thiessen characterizes them, were expressing this desire for a more perfect union that respects the rights of every citizen.
Ryan Lane
San Jose
