Letters for November 24, 2016

Lifestyle deniers complicit

Re “State of denial” (Cover story, by Alastair Bland, Nov. 17):

According to the story’s subheadline: “Climate change science is in, but efforts to curb it are out with Donald Trump in office.” I have news: “efforts to curb” environmental impacts have always been “out.”

I recently read that one flight from New York to London melts a square meter of Arctic sea ice. American families destroy 200 square meters every year; this is 10 times the impact of a family in India, Africa or South America. How? We eat meat (generating somewhere around 20 percent of greenhouse gasses); we heat and cool ever larger houses (more than twice the size, per capita, since the 1950s); we make flying routine—when we should stop altogether; we are insanely dependent on automobiles and we consume mountains of products we don’t need.

Is Donald Trump making us do any of this? No. Would a few more Clinton-brand windmills and solar panels reverse the damage? No. Slow it down? Not by much.

For every science denier, there’s a lifestyle denier. The lifestyle deniers talk about their most recent trips to Italy or Hawaii, while enjoying a steak dinner—and then complain about Trump’s environmental policies for dessert. Trump didn’t create this monster, monster though he may be.

Patrick Newman

Chico

‘Let the people decide’

Re “The next chapter (Newslines, by Ken Smith, Nov. 10):

The Move the Junkyard referendum intends to keep the door open for negotiations between the city and Chico Scrap Metal’s owners. All the referendum does is put the issue on the ballot in 2018. It allows hope that the scrap metal yard will move, so that the people nearby will not to be further put at risk from waste-stream toxins.

The people of Chapmantown are disenfranchised and couldn’t vote for the City Council that made the callous decision for the junkyard to stay. If you decide not to sign because of the convenient location or you like the business, you will be committing an injustice. It is wrong to violate the Chapman/Mulberry Neighborhood Plan and safety zoning.

Sign the referendum if you are a registered city of Chico voter! Support responsible recycling and public health. Let the people decide.

Chris Nelson

Chico

Well-articulated comment

Re “Then and now” (Guest comment, by Dean Carrier, Nov. 17):

Thank you, Dean, for articulating so well an explanation for the recent election. Your comparison is enlightening. Be well and stay safe.

Bradley Sager

Chico

An unchecked Trump

You need to understand the danger we are in. President Obama bombed seven countries without a congressional declaration of war and ordered the nonjudicial execution of many, including a U.S. citizen, during his administration. He was able to do this because the Patriot Act has suspended much of the USA’s Constitution.

Obama’s had the most power of any presidency to date. Donald Trump will inherit that power. Will he be benign or will he keep his promises and plunge us into even greater violations of human rights, including our right to a healthy environment? It seems the Patriot Act gives him the power to do as he pleases.

The definition of fascism (coined by Benito Mussolini) is big-business-run government. Trump has promised to run this country like a business, putting profit above all the liberties we hold dear. This is the unlearned lesson of pre-WWII Germany; not only should there be a separation of church and state, but there should also be a separation of business and state.

We need to prepare for the worst. We need to expect this man to be the worst thing that has ever happened to Earth and its inhabitants. To do otherwise is naive.

R. Sterling Ogden

Chico

Thesaurus eaters

I am completely flabbergasted. How can people be so ignorant? Don’t they realize that the media’s unfair, underhanded, biased coverage of the election only fueled the Trump fire? I believe it jacked up his number of supporters by 25 percent, or more! No one likes to hear and see someone being ganged up on. I’m afraid that Clinton supporters and the media will soon be eating their thesaurus! A large part of the media has shown what they are made of. I am ashamed that they were part of our election process. The world was and is watching!

Calvin Simpson

Stonyford

March in Chico

You don’t have to go to Sacramento on Jan. 21. Be a part of a Million Activists march at Chico’s City Plaza. (I modified the Washington, D.C., Million Women title to include men.) I invite you to join in organizing the event on Norcal Progressives on Facebook. To focus on solutions and information, who would you add to this list of invited speakers? Planned Parenthood, Women’s Health Specialists, ACLU, Stonewall. Ideas for an expert on immigration and on discrimination against Muslims? Climate change?

Gayle Kimball

Chico

Regarding that reply

Re “Electoral College must go” (Letters, by Maurice Picard, Nov. 17):

I am responding to Maurice Picard’s reply to my original comments concerning the popular vote. Nowhere in my comments did I reference the Florida vote. Al Gore won the national vote by 540,000 during the 2000 election. The people in all 50 states voted for Al Gore for president, which is why the Electoral College should be abolished. This year, Hillary Clinton won by over 1 million in the popular vote but lost the Electoral College, which just reinforces that the will of the people is not always reflected by the Electoral College.

Don McCollough

Paradise

Thanks, supporters

The Museum of Northern California Art (monca) would like to thank the many donors who have supported us during not only the 2016 Annie B’s Campaign through North Valley Community Foundation but also over the past four years of the organization’s existence. We are ever grateful to you for helping us raise the funds needed to renovate the beautiful Veterans Memorial Building, transforming it into an art museum and community space for the entire North State.

The concept begun by NVCF and its first donor five years ago has allowed many organizations to become more visible to the community. The museum shared in this effort and can only say “thank you” to those who gave and continue to help us reach our goal of opening the doors. Due to setbacks in our renovation plan, we are now ready to begin construction and will be able to realize our opening in early 2017.

We again thank you for your continued support and look forward to introducing you to the core collection gifted to the museum by Chico collector Reed Applegate and to numerous exhibitions by Northern California artists. This space is for you, and we hope you will continue to support it.

Pat Macias

Chico

‘Electrosmog’ all around

Your cellphones are not good for you. For a variety of reasons, I’ve become hypersensitive to electromagnetic fields (EMFs). I’m electrohypersensitive. That means I cannot be around cellphones, WiFi, computers, TV, etc., for very long. It’s a nightmare, to say the least.

Please, opt out of your Smart Meters, disconnect WiFi and use Ethernet cables instead, and limit your cellphone use. If you’d like a book recommendation, Zapped, by Ann Louise Gittleman, is a good one. Please, wake up and see what’s going on all around us—electrosmog.

Elly Jodari

Chico