Letters for May 2, 2019

Re: “Making legal cannabis work” by Joe Devlin (Essay, April 18):

I think it is really unfortunate that the city’s pot chief doesn’t mention anything about addressing the social inequities from the war on drugs. If creating equities in this new economy for communities of color is a priority for him, it is not apparent in this article.

Devin Johnson

Sacramento / via email

Recycling’s powerful foes

Re: “Is recycling still worth it?” by Foon Rhee (Editor’s note, April 18):

Recycling goals face two very powerful opponents.

First is the corporate lobbying that prevents all levels of government from enacting meaningful reforms to prevent any sale of product packaging that is difficult or impossible to recycle, whether technically or financially.

Second is the current procedure of mixing recyclables in the blue bin and picking them up by machine rather than a procedure in which materials are inspected by a person before being accepted for recycling.

Your suggestion to call my legislator implies you believe there is the kind of political will needed to make these kinds of reforms. Your faith is touching.

Muriel Strand

Sacramento / via email

McClintock’s climate denial

In a recent guest column in the Tahoe Daily Tribune, Congressman Tom McClintock wrote: “No one denies that our planet is warming, carbon dioxide levels are increasing and ocean levels are rising. Global warming (and cooling) is nothing new: our planet has been warming on and off since the last ice age … And despite what we are told, there is a vigorous debate within the scientific community.”

There is no debate, there is scientific consensus: It is fossil fuels. The “scientists” who still deny that the current warming is caused by the burning of fossil fuels are the ones whose paychecks come from that fossil fuel industry. It is odd that you believe the science of global warming thousands of years ago, but you—just like the fossil fuel industry—deny the same science when it tells us that the current warming is caused by burning of fossil fuels. You are supposed to represent the people of your district. You appear to represent only the fossil fuel industry.

Urs Schuler

Placerville / via email

Costly beds for homeless

Re: “No shelter from the critics” by Dylan Svoboda (News, April 11):

What we are talking about is a bed in a homeless shelter for nearly $52,200 per person for two years. Let’s take a look at what it costs to build hotel rooms. A typical Holiday Inn Express with 75 to 80 rooms costs about $50,000 to $60,000 per room. Similarly, an average Hampton Inn with 80 rooms costs about $60,000 per room.

But it’s a great deal for any capitalist: $40.5 million for 781 shelter beds for two years.

William Norwood

Sacramento / via email