Donald Trump blames California politicians, not climate change, for wildfires | Opinion

Destruction from mega-fires

“Palisades Fire already ranks among worst in California history. Just how destructive is it?” (sacbee.com, Jan. 10)

The Palisades Fire is the same type of wind-driven firestorm as the two-day Tubbs Fire in Santa Rosa in October 2018, which resulted in 22 deaths and the destruction of nearly 7,000 buildings.

And yet the climate-change-denying president-elect would rather blame California politicians.

We can prevent more devastating wildfires like these by not building in the path of historic fire-prone areas and taking Red Flag warnings seriously. Fire science cannot keep up with mega-fires.

Gregory Kestel

Valley Springs

Sacramento’s good old boy’s club

“Former Sacramento city manager still has a city job, salary,” (sacbee.com, Jan. 15)

The City Council decided not to renew the contract for Howard Chan as Sacramento City Manager with a salary of over $400,000. However, before they found a permanent replacement, Chan said he had become a “special advisor to the city manager” as he is already set to receive a year’s salary of about $350,000.

Frustrating, but not surprising. Mayor Kevin McCarty has shown us that the good old boys club is alive and well in Sacramento.

Sharon Scott

Sacramento

We’re here to protect the public

“Sacramento’s most prolific parking enforcement officer leads city in tickets issued — by a mile,” (sacbee.com, Jan. 2)

The California Association of Code Enforcement Officers (CACEO) would like to clarify implications made by a Bee column about Sacramento parking control officers — and, by extension, about code enforcement generally.

Our mission is to enforce local laws pertaining to parking, housing, health and safety and other quality-of-life issues often taken for granted. We also strive to educate our communities and promote voluntary compliance with local codes to preserve the character of the neighborhoods we call home.

Cameron Powers

President, CACEO

Pushing back on E15 narrative

“CA should approve the use of environmentally-friendly E15,” (sacbee.com, Feb. 21, 2024)

What Gov. Gavin Newsom isn’t saying about lowering prices at the pump with 15% ethanol gasoline is that drivers will need to buy more to travel the same distance. His own advisors warn that prices may go up due to the cost of refineries retooling, increased demand for ethanol and oil or corn subsidy changes. Adding more ethanol to gasoline benefits Big Ag, Big Oil and Big Chem.

While ethanol is sometimes considered a “cleaner” fuel than gasoline, its life-cycle contributes lots of pollution through the industrial agricultural monoculture practices used to grow the feedstock (like corn) needed to produce it, including high fertilizer usage and nitrous oxide emissions during growth. Creating inorganic fertilizer and processing corn both use methane to produce the high temperatures required.

Rather than promoting E15 gasoline, the legislature should give more rebates for EVs, improve charging options and promote distributed electricity.

Carol Weed, MD

Walnut Creek