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BART masks mandate
was meaningless
Re. “BART lifting its masks rule once more,” Web page A1, July 16:
Early night on July 5, I rode BART from MacArthur station to downtown Berkeley. I noticed, for the primary time in two years, a number of riders weren't carrying masks. Though it was standing room solely, nobody provided this 80-year-old a seat.
On the return journey, at 9:30 p.m., in a automotive with a few dozen riders, nobody was carrying a masks and one man was blatantly smoking. We made eye contact and he stared me down.
I can't be using BART once more.
Trish Elliott
Oakland
Petroleum merchandise
are a ‘needed evil’
Re. “Byproduct of the state’s photo voltaic trade? Deluge of poisonous waste,” Web page A1, July 15:
When will the emperor (our governor and president) notice they don't have any garments? The a lot touted spurning of the petroleum trade and coal trade in favor of “clear” vitality appears to have its personal demons and dire warnings, probably exceeding these of extra “conventional” fuels.
Waste and byproducts from the photo voltaic trade are actually recognized as a big polluter of our land and groundwater. Biden desires america to extend manufacturing, however with out metal, how can this happen? Seventy % of metal is made with coal, that’s a reality.
Petroleum merchandise are a needed “evil,” regardless of your politics. You received’t see solar-powered airliners, ships, long-haul transports or agricultural tools that's privately owned by “small” operators. The mining of components required by the photo voltaic trade is destroying huge parts of our planet; that is additionally a documented reality, though hardly ever addressed.
What's the resolution? All electrical is just not the one reply.
Patrick Adams
Dublin
Freedom underneath assault,
however not in California
Victor Davis Hanson’s July 15 column “California arguably most unfree state within the union,” (Web page A7, July 15) was disappointing and disingenuous. Purporting to doc how California was unfree, he as a substitute cherry-picked points from throughout California which have little or nothing to do with freedom.
If he actually needed to speak a few lack of freedom in america right this moment, he might have talked about new guide bans in 26 states simply prior to now 12 months. Or he might have talked about the various states that now restrict a girl’s freedom to decide on her personal reproductive well being care. Or he might have talked about how Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis has penalized Disney for merely opposing his “don’t say homosexual” coverage – no freedom of speech there. Or how states like Wisconsin simply banned poll drop containers to restrict the liberty to vote.
Hanson’s proper – freedom is underneath severe risk in lots of states, simply not in California.
John McCormick
Lafayette
CO2 more likely to hold
rising regardless of insurance policies
The joke is on the woke, however all of us endure from it.
The excessive value of oil and fuel has precipitated a number of nations to restart outdated coal-fired crops for electrical energy. Hundreds of thousands of individuals will change to wooden or coal for heat. Lots of the petroleum byproducts like fertilizer and cloth use a lot much less vitality than the substitutes.
Consequently, we are going to see a leap in CO2 emissions this 12 months even above the leap already recorded in 2021.
Robert Rickman
Benicia
Letter will get it backward
on gun rules
To raised inform readers on the subject of Don DeSarme’s July 12 letter (“Fewer gun restrictions convey safer states,” Web page A6), you will need to observe that Joyce Lee Malcolm’s place at George Mason College is wholly funded by the NRA, suggesting bias in her reporting.
Furthermore, all main research on this subject conclude that states with weaker gun legal guidelines correlate strongly with increased gun dying charges. Please consult with research from Rand Company, World Financial Discussion board, Harvard College of Public Well being, Nationwide Library of Drugs, The American Journal of Drugs, The Public Goal, and Demographic Knowledge.Org, amongst others.
Observe there's a comparable correlation in different nations: The variety of weapons per capita is a powerful predictor of upper gun deaths.
Paula Predmore
Danville
We should do extra
to chop down plastic
There are few locations on Earth which are unadulterated by plastic waste. Microplastics are in our our bodies, our oceans and our wildlife. We can not recycle our method out of this plastic apocalypse. We’re drowning in plastic, and it’s time to show off the faucet.
In 2020, on-line retailers created 600 million kilos of plastic waste nationally. Whereas California’s passing of SB 54 is a vital step to handle our plastic waste disaster, California should proceed to steer. Launched by California Meeting members Laura Friedman and Phil Ting, Meeting Invoice 2026 would require on-line retailers to chop their plastic packaging. Pointless foam peanuts, bubble wrap and plastic envelopes clog our landfills, litter our communities and pollute our oceans. Customers can solely accomplish that a lot. On-line retailers have to be held accountable for his or her plastic waste.
Benjamin Grundy
Surroundings California
Alameda