Feb. 10 and Feb. 2 Letters to the Editor
Feb. 10 Letters:
Yes, there is global warming
In response to Robert Westcott’s uninformed letter last week, global warming is a fact that can no longer be disputed. The average temperature of the earth has increased over the past 50 years at the fastest rate in recorded history. That fact is well documented and 97 percent of scientists agree. Carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gasses collect in the atmosphere and are trapped. CO2 in too high concentrations is a pollutant. Trees and plants are being destroyed, which adds to the problem. Burning fossil fuels to make electricity is the largest source of heat-trapping pollution, producing about two billion tons of CO2 every year. That is much more than needed by plants. Our electric car is powered by the solar panels on our roof. We all need to focus on renewable energy sources. I applaud the city of Encinitas for working on a climate action plan.
Valerie Chereskin
Encinitas
Mom and Pop shops being forced out
It’s such a shame that rents are getting crazy expensive in downtown Encinitas and cool Mom and Pop shops are being forced out. Last week another long-established retail shop Gardenology, in business for 14 years, closed after their lease was up. I heard the new lease was going up to $16,000 a month, which is just crazy. On my morning run loop through town I noticed another permit application in the window for a beer tasting room in a vacant shop next to Ironsmith coffee. This store front was unable to rent for over 15 months due to, I’m sure, the high rent. It appears that beer and wine establishments are the only businesses that can afford the skyrocketing rents in downtown Encinitas and retail businesses are being forced out when their leases are up.
We already have Culture Beer tasting room opening soon in downtown Encinitas. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good IPA beer but it’s just sad that we are losing some great retail places to too many alcohol- serving establishments and coffee houses. Isn’t it about time that the city of Encinitas puts a halt to one more beer bar permit? It is the Mom and Pop stores that make Encinitas a great place to live and the city and government should be doing something to protect them.
Trish Walsh Haskell
Cardiff
Climate action plan is necessary
The Encinitas Advocate on Jan 13 mentioned that the city has a “climate action plan program administrator” and, in the Feb 3. edition, Robert Westcott, of Encinitas, wrote “There is no global warming” and, therefore, a climate action plan is not required. Well, I disagree.
On Sept. 20, 2016, 376 members of the National Academy of Sciences, including 30 Nobel laureates, published an open letter to draw attention to the serious risks of climate change. It stated, in part, “Human-caused climate change is not a belief, a hoax, or a conspiracy. It is a physical reality. Fossil fuels powered the Industrial Revolution. But the burning of oil, coal, and gas also caused most of the historical increase in atmospheric levels of heat-trapping greenhouse gases. This increase in greenhouse gases is changing Earth’s climate.”
As a science teacher with multiple degrees, I have seen many instances where a person is either misinformed or simply never studied the body of data on a theory and, as a result, forms an invalid conclusion. A true scientist or layperson, who follows the scientific method, is always skeptical and looks at all the data. They don’t base their conclusions on the most “convenient data,” like a YouTube channel and, sorry Mr. Westcott, there is a massive body of data that supports anthropogenic global warming. Your solution is to simply label all the studies that you don’t agree with as “fake data.” Stick your head in the sand, it is your choice.
I drive a plug-in hybrid electric car and I am hoping some day that all of our cars and homes will be powered by solar. Thank you Crystal Najera for your work as the Encinitas Climate Action Plan Program administrator and thank you for promoting electric vehicles and solar power.
Jack Ross
Encinitas
Schools should be made safe for all
On Jan. 20, during a Torrey Pines/Canyon Crest Academy basketball game, a group of students began chanting “Build that Wall.” When I heard about this, I contacted the school administrators, who confirmed the incident occurred. As this was the second time a San Dieguito Union High School District (SDUHSD) athletic event featured a group of students chanting “Build that Wall,” I also asked the administration to send out a public notice indicating they were aware of the incident and reaffirming the district’s commitment to a safe and supportive school environment for all students. Unfortunately, school administrators chose to remain silent. And not only silent, but somewhat disingenuous. When Marsha Sutton wrote her article after the election titled “Stop the Hate,” she indicated she had asked school administrators if there were any issues that had occurred on any of the SDUHSD school campuses involving harassment or hate speech. She was told that there were none. This despite the fact that at the last board meeting it was acknowledged that before the election the administration was aware of an incident at a Torrey Pines football game in which students also chanted “Build that wall.”
Fast forward to Feb. 2 when students at Canyon Crest Academy coordinated an event on campus protesting the President’s travel ban. Parents were aware of the event before it even happened. How and why? Because the principal at CCA sent out an e-mail to the parents notifying them of the “peaceful, silent march” – and those are his words, not mine. Furthermore, in addition to notifying parents, he assured us that he had “met with the students involved and discussed appropriate parameters” for their activity. This doesn’t make sense to me. A peaceful event supporting a safe, supportive, and inclusive school environment regardless of ethnicity mandates an email in advance warning parents? And even offering students who might be offended by the protest an alternate location to eat lunch? But chant “Build that wall” – there is no email, no notification, no affirmation that SDUHSD schools are safe for all, and no public acknowledgment of the event or that administration even met with the students who yelled this form of hateful speech. But, apparently (and for which they want us to be thankful), our administration is concerned enough about our children that when a peaceful event occurs, they make sure to talk to the students involved ahead of time and warn the parents via e-mail. It appears that if they are truly concerned about making schools safe they are doing so only for some -- but not for all.
Rajy Abulhosn
Carmel Valley
Feb. 3 Letters:
There is no global warming
The Encinitas Advocate Jan 13 article on the bikeshare program mentioned that the city has a “climate action plan program administrator” named Crystal Najera, and the article ended with a statement by Najera that “the city encourages residents to drive electric vehicles.” My question is, who approved the creation of a “climate action plan program” and why? Whoever that was must understand that there is no global warming, and even if there were, it’s not driven by CO2. CO2 rises as a result of warming, not vice versa. Also, CO2 is not a pollutant. Trees and all plants require CO2 to live.
The idea of global warming due to “greenhouse gasses” is a scam to extract billions of dollars from the citizens of the world in the form of “carbon taxes.” The people pushing this hoax want to enrich themselves on those taxes and could not care less about the environment. I’m fully aware that people who believe in “climate change” have been convinced by a lot of fake data, and will fight tooth and nail against what I am saying. But I just ask one thing. Subscribe to the YouTube channel “Adapt 2030” and you will see weekly updates on record low temperatures and snowfall worldwide, and scientific explanations of how the global warming figures have been faked.
P.S. Anyone who cares about the environment would never recommend an electric car. Power plants are highly inefficient; wasting about two-thirds of the energy of the fuel. About 62 percent is lost in the plant as waste heat. A further 4 percent disappears in the power lines that carry the electricity to your home. The electric vehicle adds a few more percentage points of inefficiency in converting the electricity to forward motion. So, electric vehicles are certainly not “pollution-free.” Most electricity in California comes from power plants burning natural gas. But, when you figure in the inefficiencies, a vehicle burning gasoline is more efficient. By the way, nuclear is not clean because there’s no way to dispose of the waste. And windmills kill thousands of birds every month, including endangered eagles.
Robert Westcott
Encinitas