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USPS electric vehicles
need infrastructure cash
A lot of letters have been submitted supporting electric vehicles for the Postal Service, which I agree with.
One thing I have not seen is how much the charging station infrastructure will cost and where the extra money for this infrastructure will come from.
Rocky Fort
San Lorenzo
Walnut Creek defends
women’s health care
Re. “Abortion protesters now limited,” Page B1, April 8:
Whenever I would drive past Planned Parenthood, I would constantly see anti-abortion protesters on the sidewalk, picketing or yelling at clients as they walked in. It was beyond uncomfortable to watch. Regardless of what service someone is receiving, be it family planning counseling, abortion services or obtaining contraceptives, they should be able to obtain their care free of harassment.
Health care in Walnut Creek isn’t always the most accessible, especially for those in a lower socioeconomic class and/or for people of color. Planned Parenthood is one of the few resources available in the city for these communities, thus the City Council’s decision is welcomed by a future provider hoping to promote more agency and accessibility in care.
This was refreshing news to read among the wave of anti-abortion legislatures that are criminalizing those attempting to seek health care. It would be interesting to follow up to see the impact of this on those accessing care.
Cari Perumal
Walnut Creek
Open wallets to improve
care at nursing homes
I was both pleased and saddened to read “Nursing home care, funding need overhaul, report finds.” (Page C9, April 7)
I was pleased that the East Bay Times published the Associated Press article and that it included a teaser for it at the top of the front page. I was saddened that the article ran in the Business section rather than on the front page, and to read that what has been known by so many for so long about the poor care and miserable living conditions in so many nursing homes has not improved. My grandmother lived, and eventually died, in a supposedly “very good” nursing home in the Bay Area in the late 1980s. Just as the author describes, she received “OK quality of care but a poor quality of life.”
We have to do so much better, and we have to understand that doing better is going to cost money – quite a lot of it.
Anne Stafford
Oakland
Honor Earth Day
with plant-based diet
Earth Day and climate change are reasons to reduce, recycle and eat plant-based.
An article in Nature argues that animal agriculture is a major driver of climate change, air and water pollution, and depletes soil and freshwater resources. Oxford University’s Food Climate Research Network reports that solving catastrophic global warming requires a worldwide shift to plant-based eating.
Carbon dioxide is emitted by burning forests to create animal pastures and operating machinery to grow and transport animals; damaging methane and nitrous oxide are released from the digestive tracts of cattle and animal waste ponds.
Meat and dairy producers dump more animal waste, fertilizers, pesticides and other pollutants into waterways than all other human activities combined, the driving force behind wildlife extinction.
An environmentally sustainable world relies on vegetables, fruits and grains. Celebrate Earth Day: Go plant-based.
Jane DeMarines
Executive director, Sustainable Earth Eating
Glen Echo
Call on Berkeley council
to ban single-use plastic
Anyone who walks through the streets of Berkeley can clearly see that plastic pollution is a significant issue that needs to be tackled. The city’s most popular areas, such as Telegraph Avenue and Downtown Berkeley, are often littered with plastic bags and wrappers, and a trip over to the marina will clearly show the concerning effects this pollution continues to have on our environment.
As a member of CALPIRG at UC Berkeley, I have watched many of my fellow students put countless hours into combatting this pollution and securing a safe future for our environment. Right now, the organization is working with Councilwoman Kate Harrison to push the Better Berkeley Bag Ban through the City Council, which would ban the use of single-use plastic bags and ensure the use of more sustainable and environmentally friendly alternatives. This ordinance is crucial to creating a sustainable future for generations to come.
Derick Lietzow
Berkeley
Inflation began when
Biden took office
President Biden and his administration are blaming Vladimir Putin’s war in Ukraine for our high gas prices and inflation.
The high gas prices and inflation started when Biden was elected president. The war in Ukraine started at the end of February. The American people were feeling the high prices way before that. The war is making it worse though.
Biden’s polices are crippling our country big-time.
Cathy Ledbetter
Newark
Source: www.mercurynews.com