Letters for November 14, 2002

SMUD’s name is mud

Re “SMUD Muddies Trinity River,” by Clifford Lyle Marshall (SN&R Guest Comment, November 7):

I hope that the recently-elected SMUD board members read this outstanding article and reconsider the utility’s dark alliance with the Westlands Water District. As Marshall said, SMUD is “setting the stage for the next Trinity River fish kill” by supporting the lawsuit blocking Trinity River restoration.

The September die-off of thousands of fish was a tragedy that must never be repeated. SMUD, by blocking the release of cold water essential for the survival of the Trinity and Klamath fisheries, is just as responsible for the fish kill as the Bush-administration-subsidized and Klamath Basin-subsidized farmers who engineered this manmade environmental disaster.

As Marshall said, the fish kill occurred for one reason: lack of water. As a SMUD consumer, I would be more than willing to pay the $2 a year that utility economists calculate it would cost the average consumer if SMUD’s share of Trinity River water was held to 53 percent.

By continuing in its lawsuit with the Westlands Water District, blocking the record of decision, SMUD is shattering its reputation as an environmentally friendly utility known for promoting clean energy. The board should do the right thing and reverse the 6-1 decision to continue the lawsuit, as the Klamath River tribes, recreational anglers, commercial fishermen and environmental activists have requested them to do.

I encourage every SMUD consumer concerned about the restoration of the Trinity River fishery to contact SMUD’s board of directors, at www.smud.org or (916) 732-6155, and ask them to withdraw from the lawsuit.

Dan Bacher
Sacramento

Cancer industry’s siren song

Re “The Marketing of Breast Cancer” by Mary Ann Swissler (SN&R Cover, October 31):

Good article. It’s about time.

The premise for marketing diseases to women and encouraging them to obsess about their health was described in a short booklet by Barbara Ehrenreich and Deirdre English, called Complaints and Disorders. It chronicled the way culture coerces women into believing they are sick, are about to be sick or should be sick or anticipating that they will be sick.

The breast-cancer phenomenon hit its peak, as far as I am concerned, in 1998, when women were offered a free holiday mammogram, with the slogan “Get Mom a mammogram for Mother’s Day.” Ludicrous, but no one ever said anything.

Unfortunately, marketing disease has now extended to men, too. Women have been trained to be somatic. Now, men are being likewise indoctrinated.

Taking care of your health in a holistic way is sensible, but obsession is craziness. The constant refrain from the cancer industry is manipulative and almost irresistible to some. After a while, everyone caves to the siren song.

A few days ago, I saw an ad in a newspaper that offered a heart-lung scan: “Get one heart-lung scan and get another one for free.”

We haven’t hit bottom yet, but the nadir of cynical marketing is at hand.

Arlyne Jones
Sacramento

Running from cancer exploitation

Re “The Marketing of Breast Cancer” by Mary Ann Swissler (SN&R Cover, October 31):

Thank you for publishing this article. As an avid runner who recently ran in a Race for the Cure in upstate New York, I was sickened to learn how the Komen Foundation undermines the interests of the women for whom it claims to advocate, and how it profits from its investments in the cancer industry. And all by exploiting the goodwill and intentions of thousands of runners like me, who like to run for altruistic causes.

I have passed on this article to my former running club in Ithaca, N.Y.; my current club in Davis; and a Runners’ World chat board, as well as to individual running friends. An acquaintance told me he forwarded the article to his contacts at New Balance, who are major supporters of Race for the Cure.

The ball is rolling. Let’s hope it buries the Komen Foundation.

Esther Prins
Davis

Let us pray … for action

Re “Saddam and the Saints” by Steven T. Jones (SN&R Essay, October 24):

Thank you for your very informative essay. I clipped it to present to an adult Sunday school class.

I believe helping the kids to know what is going on and that there is one thing they can do to avert war—to pray about it—is very good. Children often feel totally helpless in “world” situations. They also can learn and talk and sometimes influence their parents.

The whole concept of a “just war” has always been an oxymoron in my thinking, and the idea that America would even consider a first strike as a possibility is horrible. But, apparently, I’m in the minority.

I had to laugh when I read your idea of what the Methodist Church could do. I’ve been a Methodist all my adult life, and I must say I find no pride in the knowledge that President Bush and Vice-President Cheney are Methodists. But one of the basic tenants of Methodism is the freedom to disagree with your pastor and fellow parishioners. Because Methodism is a democratic institution, parishioners cannot be excommunicated—only pastors. And, for a pastor to be excommunicated (or defrocked), it takes some major effort.

So, what can we do? We can write letters of protest and we can march in demonstrations, as many Methodists and others did in San Francisco and in Washington, D.C., on October 26. We can talk, read, keep ourselves informed, present all the information we can get our hands on (the question of oil, the number of civilians who will suffer, the curse of landmines, the horrors of war, the futility of violence to solve problems), and we can pray.

You say let’s not rely on prayer. I say let’s not just pray. True prayer involves action.

Lila Fraizer
via e-mail

Put up or shut up

Re “Terror-able Water” by Chrisanne Beckner (SN&R Cover, October 17):

Two crucial questions remain unanswered: First, would terrorists who hijacked airliners and crashed them into the Twin Towers dream of hijacking a tanker truck loaded with hazardous chemicals, breaking into an unsecured neighborhood water substation and pumping 5,000 gallons of deadly toxics into our drinking water?

Second, has security at our neighborhood water substations been increased after 9/11, and is our drinking water safe from the threat of terrorism?

Following 9/11, Dr. Dennis D. Juranek of the Centers for Disease Control warned of the vulnerability of our local water systems. He said that terrorists easily could patch into neighborhood lines and poison the water after it’s been treated and tested for safety.

Local officials disagree.

Tony Quellette, the operations manager for the Elk Grove Water Services, assures us that our water facilities in Elk Grove are secure. He has a cage over the outgoing water line that he had custom-made to protect his main water facility.

Walter Pang, Sacramento superintendent of water and sewer, has added guards, new security cameras, and a fence topped with razor wire at his huge municipal water-treatment plant in downtown Sacramento.

So, is our drinking water safe?

If you live in the South Sacramento/Elk Grove area and you look at the water-substation in your neighborhood, chances are you will see a cheap schoolyard fence, a Master lock on the gate and not a soul around. The last thing you might see protecting your water is a cage over the outgoing water line.

Look for yourself and see if there are any guards, razor wire or security cameras at the water substation in your neighborhood, the source of your drinking water.

If local authorities like Ouellette and Pang are securing their main water-treatment plants against the threat of terrorism, why aren’t they securing the small water substations, where the rest of us get our drinking water?

Engineers at the water department claim that the water pressure in the outgoing water line at a substation is upwards of 100 pounds per square inch, which would make it impossible for terrorists to force chemicals inside a water line.

Let’s do the plumbing and find out. I personally challenge the heads of the water departments, local representatives, members of the press and the public to allow me to conduct an experiment.

I will break into a water substation in broad daylight and pump 50 gallons of blue food coloring into the water.

Then, we can all go next door and ask the lady who lives there what color her water is. It’s put-up-or-shut-up time. If the water is not blue, I will shut up.

If the water is blue, the water-department heads will put up security fences at all our neighborhood water substations. The water departments will secure everyone’s drinking water—not just their main water-treatment facilities. And public officials like Richard Soares, the mayor of Elk Grove, will inform the public of the danger and take the necessary steps to get our drinking water locked up and secured.

Marc Keyser
via e-mail