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Put people’s water
needs over corporations’
Re: “Stricter water use restrictions on tap” (Page A1, Sept. 1).
While municipal water conservation plans are necessary to address the climate crisis, California officials must first rein in the water exploitation of corporate agriculture and the oil and gas industries, and center public needs when considering water management.
As stated in Food & Water Watch’s report on the California water crisis more than 1 million Californians lack access to clean water. However, mega-dairies use a staggering 42 million gallons of water every day. Additionally, between January 2018 to March 2021, the oil and gas industry used more than 3 billion gallons of freshwater for drilling operations.
Gov. Gavin Newsom, state regulators and the Legislature must develop new water policies that ensure Californians have access to clean, affordable water and that put an end to the massive water use by climate change-causing industries.
Chirag Bhakta
San Francisco
Allow church’s champion
to revitalize ‘treasure’
Re: “Historic church back into view after tarp is removed” (Page B1, Sept. 1).
San Jose should use California’s broad eminent domain law to seize the historic First Church of Jesus Christ, Scientist on St. James Street and hand it over to James Salata for redevelopment.
Salata should be applauded and rewarded for initiating a solution to save and revitalize this treasure in downtown San Jose.
Greg Salerno
San Jose
U.S. must deal with
drug culture to end crisis
Re: “Fentanyl deaths prompt outrage” (Page A1, Aug. 29).
The fentanyl crisis sparks many reactions — anger at Big Pharma, dismay over laws not being enforced, fury at those smuggling drugs into the country. It is reminiscent of the meth crisis, the cocaine crisis and the heroin crisis.
Never mentioned is the fact that the real crisis is America’s drug culture. We wantonly ignore that all of these drugs have been voluntarily taken by people wanting to get high. In essence, America has a drug crisis. Ours is not a supply problem, it is a demand problem.
Americans long ago lost the concept of personal responsibility; it’s always someone else’s fault. Until we deal with the real issue of drug dependence in this country, we will continue to have a drug crisis of some sort.
Kirch DeMartini
Saratoga
Biden’s plans offer hope
against climate change
People say President Biden’s energy plans are unrealistic. And I say the effects of climate change are unfathomable.
We think that climate change is incremental and linear. It is not. One small change here will have compound effects elsewhere. Much of what climate change does is unseen, as in our oceans and under ice. But once the arctic tundra begins to melt and recede, the hidden methane gasses will emerge and fill the ozone layer. As they recede, the coastal communities will flood. Less fortunate countries will not be able to deal with the change, and the huge and predicted human migration will begin pushing us to the edge.
The president’s plans are not unrealistic. If we have no plans, Mother Nature does
Mark Grzan
Morgan Hill
Restoring U.S. policy
could aid overpopulation
Re: “Planet’s real problem is overpopulation” (Page A6, Sept. 5).
Shout out to Tina Peak of Palo Alto. Thank you for speaking the truth.
If we really drill down on what our planetary problem is, overpopulation is the obvious answer. The solution is also obvious: bring down our population. How to go about this? By limiting the number of our children to two per couple, this being the tinder for howls of outrage.
One place to start is to reinstitute the program killed off by George W. Bush’s administration: Support Third World countries by means of free birth control and educational subsidies for women in these countries.
Marion Baldwin
San Jose
Frisbee opened up
a world of fun
Re: “Bringing fun to the world for three-quarters of a century” (Page C7, Sept. 4).
I read the article by Ronald D. White with much fascination. It brought back pleasant memories of my childhood.
While I was in my tweens in India, I was gifted a Wham-O Frisbee. The unique yellow-colored toy zipped past kids and adults alike in the crowded parks, school yard and college campus. Wherever it went, the UFO would become the most popular flying saucer in town.
I marveled at its sturdy build then, and I find myself looking for the same yellow Wham-O Frisbee in sporting goods stores now to pass down the hours of fun it would bring to a child.
As a child, reading a newspaper opened up vistas and opinions around the world. Now, I enjoy reading The Mercury News, and its print edition is a part of my daily routine now. Kudos.
Rajesh Jagannath
Sunnyvale
Source: www.mercurynews.com