Letters: Desalination plan | Dead trees | Worthy honor | Climate crisis | Little change | Ultimate victory

Mercury News Letters to the Editor for Aug. 4, 2024

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Desalination makeslittle sense on bay

Re: “Agency officials OK feasibility study for desalination facility” (Page A1, July 23).

Santa Clara Valley Water District’s desalination site options in San Francisco Bay make no sense.

The proposed South Bay locations have the highest salt content. The lowest salt content (cheapest desalination cost) is at the confluence of San Francisco Bay and the Sacramento River in Suisun Bay.

However, the bigger question is why SCVWD should build a desalination plant in the San Francisco Bay in the first place. Northern California communities would have all the water they need if we did not ship a massive amount of water to Southern California communities. Why should Santa Clara County water ratepayers pay for a desalination plant that indirectly enables shipping of more water to Southern California cities?

It makes more sense for Southern California water users to build their own desalination plant for their water use.

David MarianiLos Altos

State should clearperilous dead trees

Bark beetles have been killing California pine trees for decades. In many of our woodlands, dead trees stand scattered throughout forests of healthy ones.

If these dead trees were simply felled they would cease to be readily ignitable “candles” that currently enable fires to spread at great speed.

The cost of cutting down the dead trees and letting them lie and rot would be minuscule compared to the cost of fighting our growing fire scenarios.

Jim ThurberHalf Moon Bay

Housing project nameis a worthy honor

Re: “Affordable apartments coming near Lawrence station” (Page B1, July 27).

Naming the new housing in Sunnyvale the Ira D. Hall Square is a deserved honor.

Ira and I were in some of the same electrical engineering classes at Stanford, and he was elected our senior class president. He founded MedPen Urban Coalition as a student and later served on the boards of both HP and Stanford.

I recruited him to be co-chair for our 55th class reunion several years ago, and we had long phone conversations at the time, as he faced medical issues. We had hoped to go sailing together but were unable to make this happen. He is a great role model for all of us.

Paul WeslingSaratoga

Keep climate crisisin mind at ballot box

Re: “Global warming has arrived and we’re not ready” (Page A8, July 28).

Mark Gongloff’s comprehensive opinion piece on the impact climate change is having on our health and well-being really hit me. Global warming will only get worse: “These may be the hottest years in recorded history, but they will also be some of the coolest we’ll ever enjoy again.”

So what are we waiting for? Please use the power of your vote. Support candidates who recognize climate change for what it is — a global crisis that must be addressed.

Paula DanzLos Altos

Political chaos displaysreluctance to change

It may be an understatement to say that July 2024 was eventful in American politics.

At the beginning of the month, the Supreme Court decided its case on presidential immunity; it has slowed down Donald Trump’s criminal trials and will (in my opinion) stain this country for as long as the ruling stands, which it may for decades. On July 13, there was an attempt on Trump’s life, which brought the country together in a politically polarized era. And on the 21st, Joe Biden suspended his reelection bid, marking the first time an incumbent president eligible for reelection did so since Lyndon B. Johnson in 1968.

Let’s hope that the next few months of the election season aren’t as chaotic as July. But it seems to me that the lessons of history are that people don’t learn from history and that human behavior has not changed much since civilization’s dawn.

Pranav SankarSanta Clara

Let Israel fight forits ultimate victory

Hamas could stop the suffering of the people of Gaza if they surrendered and returned the hostages. That is how World War II ended, with the unconditional surrender of Japan and Germany. Why should Israel not be allowed to achieve such a goal? It would be better for all concerned, except for Iran and her proxies.

Gilbert SteinAptos