Letters: Prop. 45 would take state back to bad old days

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Prop. 45 returns state to the bad old days

Re: “Voters can curb the review laws to build houses” (Page A6, July 30).

The opinion piece supporting Proposition 45 concedes that infill housing is already exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act, but argues that additional “modest” steps are needed. What steps?

Proposition 45 would minimize environmental review of data centers, freeways, fossil-fuel power plants, dams, sprawling land uses into wildfire zones and more. The cost of review would be shifted to the government, over $100 million per year.

Proposition 45, known as BACA, which should stand for the Backtrack California Act, would take California back to the days when developers had no accountability for the impacts of their projects. Did you like it when companies could dump toxic chemicals in landfills and waterways with impunity? Did you like the Embarcadero Freeway and pre-1989 Nimitz Freeway that slashed through communities without regard to impacts? Did you like it when California’s air was a brown sludge? If so, you’ll love Proposition 45.

Jack Fleck
Oakland

Local legislators should support anti-coal bill

Re: “Benefits of coal terminal far outweigh drawbacks” (Page A6, July 17).

Thank you, Hunter Cobb, for bringing Mia Bonta’s Assembly Bill 40 to my attention.

State Sen. Jessie Arreguin and Assemblywoman Buffy Wicks, please add your support for this important legislation if you haven’t done so already. The best place for coal is back in the Earth where it belongs. This planet does not benefit in any way by transporting or burning coal.

Kirk Essler
Richmond

There are safe ways for public to invest in AI

Re: “Public AI stakes are a disastrous policy mistake” (Page A6, July 24).

In his op-ed, Michael Bloomberg lambasts Bernie Sanders and others for suggesting that the federal government take significant ownership stakes in the leading AI companies. He argues that this would stifle private competition and make the AI firms do the bidding of Washington politicians and their cronies.

Bloomberg is wrong to assume that the government must also receive the voting privileges that usually come with stock ownership. In fact, it is quite feasible to give the government a small equity interest with no voting rights in exchange for government subsidies or as compensation for granting access to the public securities markets. This is precisely what the government did when it “bailed out” the “too big to fail” banks during the 2008-09 financial crisis.

Kennedy Richardson
Piedmont

Henry would bring deep knowledge to park panel

Our East Bay Regional Parks are true gems, allowing people of all abilities, income levels and interests to enjoy the outdoors and learn. In November, we have the opportunity to elect a board member for Ward 5, and I am supporting Bruce Henry to replace the incumbent, Olivia Sanwong.

As an almost daily user of our parks, I want a board that ensures our beautiful parks are managed well. I know firsthand how passionate Bruce is about our parks, since he is also a frequent user of the parks and has a goal of responsible, cost-effective management in a way that optimizes public safety and accessibility. Bruce is the elected chair of the Park Advisory Committee, an appointed body that advises the board through a community perspective, so he has the in-depth knowledge and critical thinking needed to be an effective member.

Mark Miller
Pleasanton

State could lead nation away from brutal event

Back in 1994, California outlawed the Mexican charreada’s brutal “horse tripping” event, resulting in a U.S. Charro Federation rules change for the entire country. That’s progress.

Charreadas feature an even worse event, “steer tailing,” wherein a mounted charro grabs a running steer by the tail, wraps the tail around his leg, then rides off at an angle, slamming the hapless animal to the ground. Tails are routinely broken, stripped to the bone (“degloved”), even torn off. These events are common throughout California, unbeknownst to the general public.

“Steer tailing” is not a standard ranching practice anywhere in the United States, and is banned in Alameda and Contra Costa counties (early 1990s) and the state of Nebraska (2008).

It’s likely that passage of a California ban would result in a U.S. Charro Federation rule change banning “steer tailing” nationwide. Let your state reps and county boards of supervisors hear from you.

Eric Mills
Oakland

Author fails to support glib opinion piece

Re: “Data centers face undue panic about mild resource impacts” (Page A6, July 30).

In Mr. Philp’s recent “Unfounded Fear” piece, he glibly scolds opponents of unrestrained datacenter buildout for lack of objectivity. Philp: heal thyself.

He presents alfalfa as a worse use of public water, implying our lack of outrage over that crop proves “intellectual inconsistency.” In reality, the primary use of alfalfa hay is, as I’m sure he knows, beef and dairy cattle. Awareness of the excessive environmental impact of the cattle industry is hardly new or trendy ground — a UN report, “,” was published in 2006. As for the discouraging lack of data centers in this country, how many do we need? Specifically and objectively, how many more than the 5,000 already operating in the U.S. today? Are 10,000 sufficient, and exactly what for? And are those unidentified, imagined services worth eminent domain action over Americans’ private land and homes to achieve it?

Alfalfa crops never crossed that line.

Scott Best
Palo Alto