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Diablo Canyon powers
energy affordability
Great to see the East Bay Times giving voice to those advocating that California keep Diablo Canyon nuclear plant open. (“Give Diablo Canyon nuclear plant more to do”, Page A19, Dec. 19) As the column describes, adding “polygeneration” to Diablo Canyon’s capabilities would increase the plant’s value in many ways and help California decarbonize faster.
One value added that wasn’t mentioned: Polygeneration will allow the plant to operate much like a giant battery – easing the transition to more solar power on the grid. When solar power saturates the grid midday, Diablo Canyon’s power can be redirected to desalinating water or producing hydrogen. But when the sun goes down, Diablo Canyon can switch back to generating electricity. And Diablo Canyon will be able to desalinate and produce hydrogen at half the cost of other methods.
In other words, adding polygeneration to Diablo Canyon addresses many California issues affordably. It’s well worth the investment.
Stephen Williams
Santa Cruz
Hanson’s ‘insights’
into Democrats off-base
Re. Victor Davis Hanson 12/17/21 “Why is left now worried about end of democracy?“, Page A7:
Victor Hanson has no idea what I, as a Democrat, worry and not worry about. He has no legitimate reason to write a column presuming to know my cares and concerns, especially without actually having a conversation with me or other Democrats.
It would behoove him to speak of things he’s not worried about (Meadow’s emails? those pleading the Fifth in the Jan. 6 hearings? Climate change? Women’s rights? COVID spread and deaths in Republican states? Child care?), rather than write an opinion piece full of overgeneralizations, assumptions, obfuscations and lies.
I agree with several other letter-writers who have had enough of his babbling, overused right-wing talking points to demonize us and further divide this country. Bring back someone who has a level head and can see both sides of an issue, then we can go from there.
Lisa Rigge
Pleasanton
Bearing arms is key
part of amendment
In reference to “semi-automatic weapons,” Bruce Joffe claims in Sunday’s Letters to the Editor section (“Newsom should cast a wide anti-gun net,” Page A18): “While possession of these weapons may be protected by the Second Amendment, taking them out of the owner’s house is not.”
One wonders what part of “The right to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed” Mr. Joffe does not understand.
Mike Goldstein
Walnut Creek
Supreme Court doing
fine with nine justices
Sen. Elizabeth Warren’s call to expand the Supreme Court (“Elizabeth Warren calls for expansion of Supreme Court,” Page A4, Dec. 16) is blatantly transparent, and ridiculous. All she wants to do is change the court from its current conservative majority (5-4) to a liberal majority (6-7) while Democrats are still in power and can appoint liberal judges.
Naturally, she uses the now tired phase that “Our democracy depends on it.” The problem with her convoluted logic is that if Republicans ever take control again, they would seek to expand the Court even further to again claim a conservative majority. Of course, Democrats hope Republicans never gain power again, which would assure their liberal majority lasts forever. However, that is very short-sighted thinking.
The Supreme Court, with nine justices, has worked fine for over 150 years. Just leave it alone and forget the never-ending partisan politics.
Joseph Gumina
San Carlos
High rents are not
driving exodus
Scott O’Neil got it right when he brought attention to the generational exodus facing the Bay Area (“Bay Area cities are to blame for this Housing Crisis Christmas,” Page A18, Dec. 19), but he missed a key element.
Many young people have already moved, and many more will. Not because of high rents, but because they can buy a home for a third of what it costs here. Many of their parents will follow them. It is not helping to blame the people who are building the only new housing in our region.
Thomas Scott
Morgan Hill
Sports leagues should
enforce mask mandates
It isn’t a mystery why so many sports teams are experiencing a rash of COVID-19 infections beyond the increased transmissibility of the new strains.
A quick look at the sidelines at the players and fans at the games will immediately reveal the reason. So many people wear their masks either like a chin strap or under their noses that there is no protection against the spreading of the virus. This is common in health clubs around the Bay Area, too. Unless the mouth and nose are covered, the protection afforded by a mask is negligible. It violates the mask-mandate policies. Those most vulnerable are put at especially great risk by these inconsiderate people.
The proper and effective manner of wearing masks should be enforced.
David Bruck
San Jose
Pacheco Dam too much
cost, too little benefit
I was disappointed that the California Water Commission approved the Pacheco Reservoir Expansion Project by Valley Water as “feasible” in the Dec. 16 Mercury News (“Plan near Pacheco Pass gets big boost from state,” Page B1).
While it is probably feasible to build a new dam and reservoir there, it is not the fiscally sound nor the environmentally best solution. I agree that Valley Water needs to increase our water supply security and resilience, but a new Pacheco off-stream reservoir to store “rainy year” water is a very expensive (estimated $2.3 billion) way to gain only 134,500 acre-feet increase in storage. Informed people know that there are much less expensive and less environmentally damaging projects that Valley Water should pursue to increase our water security including more groundwater storage, more recycling and more conservation.
John Cordes
Sunnyvale
Source: www.mercurynews.com