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Climate change requires
decisive action now
Monday’s article on the Washburn Fire in Yosemite (“Blaze closes in on famed grove,” Page A1, July 11) really hit home for me.
Yosemite Valley, especially the meadow between the Chapel and Yosemite Falls, looking toward Half Dome, is my favorite place in the world. I’ve passed on my love of Yosemite to my children and hope they’ll pass it on to their children. But I fear that climate change is rapidly changing Yosemite to the point that it might be unrecognizable to me in just a few years. Its majestic forests are threatened by fire today. Its rivers and waterfalls are disappearing due to drought. The smoke-free panoramic views of Half Dome and El Capitan will soon be visible only in our memories.
Climate change is not an issue that we can address tomorrow. We need to take Manhattan Project-scale action today. Call your representatives. Vote for candidates that promise to make reversing climate change their No. 1 priority.
Joe Brock
Palo Alto
County irresponsible
in awarding $1M deal
Kudos to The Mercury News and Santa Clara County Supervisor Otto Lee for shining a light on the audacious story about Jeff Smith’s office awarding a $1 million no-bid contract to Jean McCorquodale (“County history book cost over $1M,” Page A1, July 8), wife of former Santa Clara County Supervisor and State Sen. Dan McCorquodale.
Collective shame should be on Jeff Smith, the McCorquodale family, as well as complacent county executives and associated personnel.
Please continue to be the proverbial third leg of the stool to keep county residents informed. It’s shocking to think this is the tip of the proverbial iceberg in the more than $2 million in payments the county has provided to the McCorquodale family. Not to mention the ghastly violation of Jean McCorquodale committing plagiarism, while billing the county more than $1 million.
Shame on the county of Santa Clara at a time when our citizens are being forced into homelessness due to inflation. Shame, indeed.
Akeem Mostamandy
San Jose
Wiser ways to spend
money than Diablo plant
I’ve been reading of efforts to get the public to accept the continuing use of nuclear power but any factual evaluation is missing. The rationale is that “we need something to fill in the gaps in solar and wind when they are not producing.”
There are many proven methods of storing electricity to fill in the peaks of generation and demand, as well as some that are new.
Pumped water and compressed air have been well-proven. Now batteries are in use and heated sand and other heat storage methods are shown to be feasible.
Also, where is the financial analysis? To keep the Diablo Canyon plant going it will need billions of dollars of retrofitting and be out of service for years while that is done.
It would make more sense to spend money on green power that could be built quicker and last for decades longer with lower operating costs.
Fred Geiger
Santa Cruz
It’s time we indict
Donald Trump
Some have worried that indicting the former president would be inadvisable because it could set off a national crisis including civil violence.
I feel otherwise; we have already entered a national crisis and we need to realize that. While (other than Jan. 6) there has been no widespread violence as yet, the chance of such down the road is increased dramatically by letting the president and other perpetrators of Jan. 6 off the hook.
Either the rule of law prevails or it does not. If it does not, future violence is certain. We must realize the situation we are in and not think we can avoid it by “kicking the can down the road.” Now is the time to stand tall and protect our democracy.
Don Barnby
Menlo Park
Misled Jan. 6 figure
has much to be sorry for
I applaud Steven Ayres for voluntarily testifying before the Jan. 6 Committee. I appreciate what seemed to be very sincere testimony from him.
I am sorry that Ayres was horribly misguided by the cult of Donald Trump. I am also sorry that Ayres semi-blindly followed his buddies to Washington, D.C., and into the Capitol in support of their guy. I am happy that he could shrug and think, “Well, I guess we’re done here” once Trump told them that citizens should think about going home. I’m sorry that Ayres lost his job and much of his life.
There’s a lot to be sorry about; for this guy and many others who drank the Kool-Aid. Unfortunately, the people who caused that angst, that pain, and the associated long-term effects didn’t care.
George Licina
Santa Rosa
Source: www.mercurynews.com