East County Letters: Time to fight climate change

June 04--To fight climate change, city should join with MCE

Dear Editor:

On June 13 the Antioch City Council will decide whether to join the Community Choice Energy Joint Powers Authority of MCE Clean Energy. MCE offers to each customer in its service area a choice on how much (50 or 100 percent) of their electric service comes from renewable sources (solar, wind, hydro, thermal) versus a significantly lower percentage mix by PG&E.

If the city joins with MCE, the amount of greenhouse gases released into the environment attributed to the city will be lower, reducing the city's contribution to climate change. In addition, joining with MCE will significantly help the city meet the target goal of 25 percent reduction of GHG by 2020 and 80 percent reduction by 2035, Antioch City Council Resolution 2009/57. There are other ways the city could reduce its GHG impact, but none are less invasive to ratepayers or less expensive overall than joining with MCE.

It is estimated that the MCE monthly cost to each individual ratepayer will be low. For discussion only, if the MCI rate should settle at 1 percent above current PG&E rates (expectation is that the rate will be lower than PG&E rates), and the current PG&E monthly bill is $100, then the comparative MCE bill would be $101. An additional $1 is not much to pay to make an impact on slowing climate change.

It may seem that Antioch joining with MCE is an inconsequential action relative to the overall issue of global warming. However, I am reminded of how single grains of sand, when joined collectively, lock together to form a beach against the waves of climate change.

So join me on June 13, at the Antioch City Council Chambers, 200 H St., Antioch, 7 p.m. to urge the Antioch City Council to pass an ordinance for the city to join with MCE.

If not for yourself, but for your children's children along with all the other innocent life on this Earth.

Harry Thurston

Antioch

Single-payer health plan is not realistic

Dear Editor:

The California Legislature (Democratic Party) is proposing a new "single payer" health plan for California, eliminating employer-paid health insurance, Medicare and MediCal (Medicaid). The Legislature's analysis shows it would cost $400 billion per year (the total state budget, including federal grants, is approximately $180 billion) and would be supposedly paid for by a new 15 percent payroll tax on employers and employees.

In 2011 Vermont was given the right to skip "Obamacare" and go directly to single payer. In December 2014 the state's Democratic governor and Legislature gave up on the idea after determining it would double every tax in the state and provide inferior health care coverage.

The Obama administration also quietly funded 24 nonprofit insurance "co-ops" to compete with private insurers under Obamacare. Twenty of those plans are now bankrupt after blowing through $3 billion in startup "loans" from the administration; 989,000 people have lost their insurance coverage as the co-ops have failed, with state governments forced to provide coverage at a yet-unknown cost.

Democrats will spare none of our money to try anything to avoid market and reality-based health care coverage.

Hal Bray

Brentwood

Let all political views be expressed

Dear Editor:

And so it begins. Or rather, so it spreads. It began in Cali when "students" rioted to prevent any conservative speakers from giving speeches. And Democrats and the media condoned and encouraged it.

Now the mayor of Portland, Ore., wants to ban "alt-right" rallies. This is the same city that had the previous mayor blessing the rioting and destruction that followed the November election. Make no mistake, the attack on the Muslim girls and their defenders was a truly despicable act. But don't use that as an excuse to outlaw political views. Even the Klan is allowed to march with police protection, as bad as it is. It's called free speech. Contrary to what the liberals believe, we are a Democratic republic. As in democracy, not socialism. Not communism.

Putin outlaws opposition parties. We don't do that here. At least we didn't. But that's when the First and Second Amendments meant something.

Steve Brown Sr.

Oakley

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