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Regenerative farming
a tool in climate fight
I agree with Wendy Chou’s Jan. 11 Letter to the Editor: local actions have a significant impact on the climate crisis (“Local actions can have big impact on warming,” Page A6). We don’t focus enough on solutions, especially ways to remove emissions from the atmosphere.
In saving Coyote Valley for agricultural use, if farmed regeneratively, these lands could remove large amounts of carbon from the atmosphere: huge progress for the climate. According to an Ohio State soil scientist, “A mere 2% increase in the carbon content of the planet’s soils could offset 100% of all greenhouse gas emissions going into the atmosphere.”
Among its untold benefits, regenerative agriculture greatly increases the land’s capacity to absorb and retain water, which will help us all during increasing drought. It greatly increases farm productivity, which helps stabilize our food supply for decades to come. We must do whatever we can to invest in, encourage and incentivize land to be farmed regeneratively.
Hoai-An Truong
Mothers Out Front Silicon Valley
San Jose
PUC should scrap PG&E
proposal and start over
The California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) is delivering a gut punch to the adoption of residential rooftop solar. CPUC proposes to allow PG&E to charge new solar customers with average-size systems a fixed monthly charge of $50. Further, the buy-back rate for surplus electricity generated by an average system will drop by 48%-80%.
If adopted, potential solar customers will be scared off. The rooftop solar industry in California will wither and jobs will be lost. Backed by fuzzy logic, the CPUC asserts the opposite will occur; more solar, enhanced grid reliability, lower costs.
The truth is this proposal turns a blind eye to climate change initiatives and hinders our decarbonization goals. CPUC votes on this Jan. 27. Gov. Gavin Newsom recently said that there’s “…work to be done” on this proposal. I believe it should be scrapped and replaced with more viable plans. Write to your representatives if you feel the same.
Bruce Roberts
Los Gatos
COVID safety rules
should apply to all
If the vaccination requirement at SAP Center has been in place since September, how did the Detroit Red Wing Tyler Bertuzzi get in on Jan. 11? He’s unvaccinated and brags about being the only NHL player not vaxxed. His score shouldn’t have counted either.
The rules should be enforced for everyone
Sandie Ehrman
San Jose
Much still to do to save
democracy from ‘Big Lie’
Can democracy survive the stupidity in this country that denies fair and legitimate elections; that refuses to acknowledge the violence and treason of Jan 6, 2021; that sees vaccines and masking as a threat to individual rights; that insists on legislating and restricting women’s rights; that restricts voting rights; that cannot distinguish fact from fiction; that feeds on incinerating rhetoric; that have let the “Grand Old Party” be hijacked by power-mongers that have replaced common courtesy with a general disrespect for each other and our institutions?
The answer is in doubt unless we hold these people accountable. Prosecute insurrectionists and vote to remove those who refuse to protect the Constitution and safeguard democracy. Encourage active participation and dialog challenging “The Big Lie.” And honor truth and integrity in ourselves and others.
Claudia Parker
San Jose
Build Back Better has
tools to help climate
The United States has spent an incredible amount of money on weather-related disasters in recent years. In 2021 alone, the economic toll on the United States from “billion-dollar disasters” amounted to $145 billion.
Adam Smith, a climatologist with NOAA who led the disaster report, stated that climate change is “amplifying and making more severe some of these extremes that lead to billion-dollar disasters.”
President Biden’s Build Back Better package includes $555 billion in provisions that would significantly reduce fossil fuel emissions — the greatest climate provisions in the history of this country. The $555 billion, designed to be applied over the course of 10 years, pales in comparison to what the United States currently spends on disasters. If we don’t take bold steps to reduce our carbon emissions, that number will continue to climb.
The Senate needs to reach an agreement on Build Back Better and get this bill to Biden’s desk.
Paula Danz
Los Altos
Call to fire teachers
short-sighted, ignorant
I found Marc Thiessen’s declaration that Chicago should fire its teachers rather than negotiate with them ignorant and short-sighted (“Don’t negotiate with teachers who walk off job — fire them,” Page A7, Jan. 13). By claiming that teachers abandoned their posts, their kids, and their families he’s showing he thinks teachers owe more to their jobs, their students, and their students’ families than they do to their own families.
I wonder who he thinks would replace the fired teachers. Most school districts, including Chicago, are currently experiencing a lack of substitutes.
I suspect Thiessen had the privilege of working at home when he chose to attack the CTU and teachers in general. I don’t believe he really cares about the quality of education any students receive. If he did, he’d think twice about the safety concerns raised by the teachers. Instead, he used this event to promote his own agenda.
Suzanne Wynnell
Sunnyvale