Climate change, health care
2 approaches to climate change
Re “Major setback for climate agenda” (Page 1A, Sept. 10): The story of Senate Bill 350 reflects a story of two regions. The European petroleum industry acknowledges that climate change is a threat to the whole world and acknowledges its role in causing this threat. The American petroleum industry views climate change as a threat to itself and especially its profits.
The European petroleum industry is willing to take strong actions to combat climate change, including support for a tax or carbon fee on the very product it sells. The American petroleum industry is willing to take strong actions, including massive lobbying and public relations spending, to defeat climate change initiatives it views as threatening. The fight over SB 350 is just another skirmish in the American tale of climate change.
When the American petroleum industry adopts the perspective of its European counterparts, the path to successful climate change actions will be much smoother.
Harold Ferber, Elk Grove
Cooper’s integrity stays intact
Re “Cooper holds out on climate measure” (Insight, Marcos Breton, Sept. 8): The lack of support in the Assembly for Senate Bill 350 is not a result of certain industries’ abilities to recruit legislators, as Marcos Breton describes. Rather, the lack of support shows a majority of the Legislature is unwilling to support bad policy.
The consequences of cutting diesel by 50 percent were dire and Assemblyman Jim Cooper understood this. Supporting climate change legislation is one thing, supporting a cut in jobs and revenue for a state that truly needs it is an entirely different issue. Thank you, Cooper, for paying attention to the details, prioritizing jobs and placing the needs of your constituents first.
Donna Springer, West Sacramento
Reducing health care access
Re “Concierge medicine: A cure for red tape?” (Insight, Sept. 7): Once again our medical professionals have created a profit-oriented approach to health care that creates greater inequities in care for the poor.
While I understand that today’s physicians have caseloads that make it difficult to provide quality care, reducing their own caseloads and charging more for their remaining clients only serves to increase the caseload problems for other physicians. Better ideas include increased Medicare reimbursement rates, federal scholarships to increase the number of physicians and mandatory preventive care as part of an individual’s insurance.
Wealth should not determine the quality of medical care an individual receives.
Paul Nolfo, Sacramento
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This story was originally published September 11, 2015 at 5:00 PM with the headline "Climate change, health care."