Letters to the editor for the week of 10/16/19
Guidelines for letters
All letters must contain an address and phone number. Only one letter per week per person will be published; only one letter per person per month regarding the same topic will be published. Feather Publishing does not print third-party, anonymous or open letters. Letters must not exceed 300 words. Writers responding to previously published letters may not mention the author by name. The deadline is Friday at noon; deadlines may change due to holidays. Letters may be submitted at any of Feather Publishing’s offices, sent via fax to 283-3952 or emailed to [email protected].
Thank you ORL
I am writing to express my gratitude for Feather River College’s Outdoor Recreation and Leadership program. Aside from offering first class education in recreation leadership and outdoors skills to its students, over the years the program has touched our community in at least two major ways.
First, the program has developed leaders and employees in outdoor adventure. We are seeing the benefits of this in local businesses and efforts catering to the growing mountain biking, kayaking, skiing, hiking and rock climbing cultures in our region.
Second, the program has been a key source of educational support to Plumas County K – 12 schools. Students, faculty and program facilities regularly support learning and fitness opportunities for our community’s children. Thank you to FRC faculty Rick Stock, Darla Deruiter, Saylor Flett, and all the others who have created and maintained this lodestar program at FRC. Your past, present, and future efforts are greatly appreciated.
Paul Vaughn
Quincy
Climate change event
I was a little surprised by the admonition, by Jane Braxton Little, telling folks “don’t eat beef.” Is that because she believes that the posterior emissions of our Plumas and Sierra County cattle are major contributors to a change in our climate? Or, is she a card-carrying member of PETA?
A few of questions for Robbin Anderson re: The Carbon Dividend Act. Who manages the program costs? Is there a watchdog system to control the money managers? Your Citizens Lobby says that the money collected from the carbon fee is allocated in equal shares every month to “the American people to spend as they see fit.” That seems a bit nebulous and, pie in the sky. But just in case this is not more false news, when and how do we start receiving our monthly checks?
Dick Beaver, D.C.
Blairsden
Clear choice
This is a “no-brainer.”
There are two candidates running to represent our district in the California State Assembly:
Elizabeth Betancourt — A woman with a Master’s degree in forest and source-water management who has worked for nearly 20 years in resource management and planning for all levels of government and the private sector. She has years of experience advocating for rural values at the state legislature. Elizabeth believes in transparency, honesty, and hard work and accepts no money from political PACs.
Or, Megan Dahle — A woman who’s only “qualification” is the wife of the ex-Assemblyman who abandoned his elected position mid-term to advance his political career, resulting in two special elections at great expense to both the counties in AD1 and the state. Megan Dahle has received campaign donations from Phillip Morris Tobacco, Chevron, Monsanto, and the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturer’s Association. You have to ask yourself what these large international companies want from our small rural economies?
Who do you think is best qualified and has our rural interests at heart?
Davney Gasser
Quincy
Fallen behind
I get nervous in the winter when I hear that a blizzard is approaching. I charge my devices, get extra nonperishable foods and water, set up my candles … and when it hits I’m pissed. I sit in the darkness knowing my shows aren’t being recorded, that I can’t use my oven, that I have no Internet. Who am I pissed at? Nature.
Sometimes up here in the mountains the power just goes out with no warning. It’s a fact of life up here. Maybe there was too much snow on a power line or maybe the wind blew one down. I sit in the dark with no answers. I’m grateful that I have a heater that works when the power is out. I blow my mind that housing codes insist there be electrical heating in rentals. Up here? That just slays me. How short sighted. But, yet again, it’s a fact of life up here.
PG&E has fallen so very far behind in technology. Power poles keep being put up as the population increases instead of using newer methods like putting in underground cables, which has been the common method in southern California’s communities. Maybe the mountains make it too hard. I don’t know. I only can see how pissed people are right now at PG&E.
PG&E has reaped but not sowed. Now they express their desire to err on the side of caution. Is the reason they say this because they want no towns to burn or is it to avoid more lawsuits? I don’t know. Maybe it’s a bit of both.
I would love to see life go in a perfectly straight, smooth line.
I know it’s never going to happen like that but we can keep hoping and they should keep trying. At least try to do the best they can and we do the best we can at dealing with reality, and attempt to improve it somehow.
Hell, we could have been born in Syria.
Jenny Lee
Quincy
Same three factors
It may come as a great surprise to some, but the causes of the many fires in the Amazon, the Great Canary Island and the early spring fires in Australia are all the same. Heat/ignition, fuels/how abundant and how dry, and oxygen/O2; have caused and continue to influence, for example, the Walker, the Camp and the Carr fires, as well as every other fire in the history of the planet.
From a distance of 15 – 20 miles, I’d guess the abundance of very dry fuels played the major role in the rate of spread of the Walker Fire. Experiencing winds of 20 – 40+ mph that one day didn’t help the situation either. Wind and dry flash fuels played the major roles in the Camp Fire; if the info received and my recollection is accurate (both big “ifs”) the winds played havoc with PG&E’s lines, broke a weakened spot in a tower, the transmission lines carrying 18,000 volts crossed and sparked those dry flash fuels near Pulga; then those winds pushed the fire through parts of Concow, Magalia, and through most of Paradise.
Heat must have been the dominant factor in the Carr Fire. Almost any wildfire can have the effect of pulling O2 in at the knees and blowing smoke back in your face. The extreme heat of late July in and around Redding, combined with the added heat of the wildfire produced a “fire-nadoe.”
Just supposing the possibility that climate change has increased the number of days over 100 degrees on the valley floor, the length of the fire season, the lower humidity resulting in drier fuels, the velocity of the winds or any other possible factor that might have increased the intensity of fire behavior; then might we consider lightening up on the consumption of fossil fuels?
The best reference I can give for a more knowledgeable meteorologist is Daniel Swain at UCLA.
Gene Nielsen
Crescent Mills
Take back California
Recall Governor Gavin Newsom.
If you do not like what is happening in California under Newsom you can sign the petitionto Recall.
Here are five reasons to Recall Gov. Newsom:
Homelessness/Tent Cities and Housing Shortage Crisis
Sanctuary Cities /State Are Unsafe for Americans
Death Penalty Reversals
Free Healthcare for Illegals but not Americans
More Taxes — Endless Taxes – on top of existing taxes
Go to the App Store and download the free “Recall Newsom” App print it out and mail it in or go to https://recallnewsom.us/
It’s time to take back our state from renegade partisan politicians who are passing laws that are either unconstitutional(five years of tax returns to run for a Federal office), or laws or taxes that are unfair to rural counties or partisan legislation favoring one party over another or favoring illegals over Americans in the case of free healthcare or downright just nonsensical legislation like open borders and uncontrolled immigration.
Don’t move out of California. Take-back California.
Mimi Garner
Graeagle
Change is imperative
Trump’s unilateral decision to pull US troops out of Syria, thereby throwing our Kurdish allies under the bus, is one more reason to be concerned about this man’s fitness for office. He virtually handed the Kurds over to Turkey to be slaughtered, never mind years of Kurdish aid in suppressing ISIS, which has served to keep the United States and the rest of the world safer.
I never thought I’d live to see the day when the president himself was my country’s worst enemy. He has subverted our national interests by alienating allies and promoting the objectives of our foes. How, exactly, does that maintain our national security? It does not.
By independently deciding to withdraw our troops from Syria, he has compromised America’s standing in the world and facilitated Russia’s continuing effort to undermine our nation’s power, stability and international reputation. No world leader can have confidence that anything this president says is reliable.
Revelations about Trump circumventing standard diplomatic operational protocols in order to extort Ukraine for purposes of gathering dirt on a political opponent should trouble us as well.
It’s just as troubling to call Congressman Doug LaMalfa’s office to ask where he stands on these issues and be told by his aides that he “supports President Trump.” Why would Mr. LaMalfa support a man who is so clearly incompetent and dangerous?
We can’t afford to have a Congressional representative who is unconcerned about the moral lapses of Donald Trump, unconcerned about Trump’s furthering of his own interests above those of the country he took an oath of office to defend.
It’s time for change at every level, but we can start by voting Audrey Denney to Congress, California District 1.
Susan Christensen
Quincy
Never before
Never before has an American President been so depraved, so corrupt, so unethical, so morally vacant, so ignorant and evil stupid, so un-American, and an outright traitor to our country.
The illegitimately elected Donald Trump asked and received election manipulation from a hostile foreign nation — Russia. Russia’s goal is to destabilize all democratic governments especially the USA and all our allies. The Mueller Report showed this — several Trump henchmen went to jail.
Trump doesn’t care one iota about the USA. All he and all Republicans care about is money and power. Notice that the only major legislation passed by Trump is tax cuts for the rich. No jobs bill. No legislation to make our water, air and environment cleaner. Actually, Trump has removed environmental protections like California’s ability to set auto emissions standards, allowed banned chemicals back into the environment.
Trump is shaking down the Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelensky. You see, Russia wants Ukraine and Trump wants ‘dirt’ on Biden. Ukraine needs our weapons to repeal Russian attacks. So Trump, like a mob boss, paraphrasing ‘you want our weapons, I need some deliverables’. This is bribery and Constitutionally illegal.
The latest Trump crime is allowing Turkey to commit genocide on our Kurdish allies. But Trump has a hotel in Turkey and Turkish president Erdogan probably threatened Trump with his hotel. And it’s also very possible that Putin told Trump to do it. You see, for Trump it’s all about Trump and making money.
Trump, Pence, Barr, Pompeo, Moscow Mitch and many other elected Republicans — they are all dirty and despise our Constitution. They have zero respect for the rule of law. Trump and Moscow Mitch have packed our courts — un-Constitutionally. Republicans still gerrymander, suppress voter participation and rig elections.
Trump will be impeached, but probably will not be convicted in the Senate. Should Trump somehow be ‘elected’ again, the United States of America would degrade in to a country like Russia or China or North Korea.
Mike Mihevc
Graeagle
A victim of deceit
According to the Washington Post, Trump had made more than 12,000 false or misleading claims before Aug. 12, 2019. His administration has alienated our allies, bullied smaller nations and has been accused of aiding our enemies. The separation of children from asylum seeking immigrant families led to the known deaths of seven children. The unwarranted desertion of our Kurdish allies to aid the Turkish dictator may lead to Kurdish genocide and the release of thousands of Isis captives. These acts will stain our country forever. The unprecedented abuse of power and corruption of the Trump presidency has rocked our Constitution to its core.
Domestically, the Trump administration views Climate Change as “inconvenient” because mitigating it could cut corporate profits. It has required government officials to omit the words “climate Change” in their documents and public dealings. The Agriculture Department “buried” thousands of documents on climate change. In an effort to suppress research on the relationship between agriculture and climate change, the Agriculture Department transferred that part of the department to a city thousands of miles away. They strategized that this plan would encourage career employees, who are familiar with vetted data, to quit rather than move. It worked. Half of the career employees required to move terminated their employment.
The distribution of incomplete, inaccurate and misleading information has far reaching consequences. When the American people can no longer trust the information that is generated from the Oval Office or the agencies on which we depend, the very fabric of our Democracy and our personal wellbeing are at risk.
Climate Change is real and human activity is to blame. Our future and that of the natural world are at risk. We have no time to waste, so when you vote, vote for candidates who defend honesty, integrity and transparency.
Faith Strailey
Quincy
The Tethys Ocean
Some of you will not have heard of the Tethys Ocean. It existed from about 300 million years ago to just 5.3 million years ago. At its widest, it was nearly as wide as the Atlantic. When the vast super-continent of Pangaea began to-break up, with Laurasia drifting to the north and Gondwana drifting to the south, the Tethys Sea broke through from the east. The equivalent of our Gulf Stream flowed unhindered from east to west, roughly along the warm equator. The main Tethys surface rose to at least 80 degrees Fahrenheit and waters near the poles to near 50 degrees. Much of today’s oil comes from the warm, sluggish, marginal, oxygen starved bays, where deep Tethys black shale formed over millions of years. The Aral, Caspian and Black Seas, along with southern Europe and parts of the Sahara were all under the Tethys Ocean.
A mystery was finally solved by Professor Ken Hsu when he realized that the remains of the Tethys Sea had completely evaporated many times between 6.5 and 5.3 million years ago. A dry Mediterranean should have precipitated less than a hundred feet of table salt and gypsum (calcium sulfate), yet there were thousands of feet coming up in drill cores. When Africa and Arabia drifted into Europe and the middle east, they blocked the seas entrance and exit. Inflow from rivers was minimal. The sea dried out until the Atlantic ocean broke through the Gate of Gibralter and refilled the empty basin, only to have the gate open and close repeatedly during the next 1.2 million years. Once the Tethys equatorial current ceased, north/south currents cooled our world.
Sorry about the brevity, but it is difficult to stuff 300 million years of geophysics into two paragraphs.
Wallace B. Eshleman
Quincy
