Oct. 16 Letters to the Editor

No fracking

EDITOR: Your editorial suggesting that Gov. Jerry Brown's signing of Senate Bill 4, which will regulate fracking in California, "may be a good compromise" was irresponsible ("Moving ahead cautiously on fracking," Oct. 7). More than 100 environmental and consumer groups opposed this legislation — including Food and Water Watch, the California Water Impact Network, the Sierra Club and the Center for Biological Diversity.

Fracking irreversibly poisons our water, spews dangerous methane into our already suffocating atmosphere, destroys our vegetation, guarantees leakages into aquifers and ensures the destruction of the planet. Why does The Press Democrat promote further dangerous extraction of dirty fuel instead of advocating conversion to renewable sources?

We in California are innovators, and, one of our own, Stanford Professor Mark Jacobson has just launched a plan — the Solutions Project — that includes converting California's power from fossil fuel to 80 to 85 percent renewable energy (primarily solar and wind) by 2030. We can lead the sustainable energy frontier and show the rest of the country and the world that we no longer need to prolong our addiction to dirty fossil fuel.

Let's start by immediately pressuring our legislators to expedite this project and leave the likes of the Monterey shale where it belongs — underground.

SUNNY GALBRAITH

Sebastopol

Children of Congress

EDITOR: It's not a Republican thing or a Democrat thing, it's a flat out childish, selfish mess in Congress. When you put pride before common sense, group think before honor, and lobbyists before the citizens, this is what you get — a dysfunctional government. People who visit from all over the world are shaming us by showing their children closed national parks and monuments that they planned and paid good money to visit. Shame on everyone in Congress.

JORDON BERKOVE

Forestville

For Measure A

EDITOR: Here in Rohnert Park, we value our quality of life, and take pride in our safe neighborhoods and parks. Measure A on Rohnert Park's Nov. 5 ballot would help protect and maintain public safety and other essential services for our community, without raising existing taxes.

Measure A doesn't create a new tax but simply continues an existing half-cent sales that tax Rohnert Park voters approved in 2010. With the help of these funds, the Rohnert Park Public Safety Department has been able to lower crime rates to the lowest levels in the past decade. Neighborhood police patrols, 911 emergency response, fire protection, disaster preparedness services, street and park maintenance and senior programs are among the services Measure A can continue to fund.

Measure A would ensure that our city continues to have a guaranteed source of local funding that cannot be taken by Sacramento and requires that our tax dollars are spent locally for Rohnert Park residents. It is fiscally accountable, with independent audits and public review of expenditures.

Measure A is the only item on Rohnert Park's ballot, so please remember to vote. The last day to register to vote is Nov. 21. To learn more, visit www.rpcity.org.

BRIAN MASTERSON

Director of public safety

Rohnert Park

Unsparing language

EDITOR: Gordon Forsythe ("Obama's hatred," Letters, Saturday) uses language such as "grossly despicable," "hateful and spiteful of American citizens," "un-American," "moronic brown shirts" and "fascist Obama/Democrat Party regime" to express his ire at the closing of national parks and memorials, wrapped up in disturbing, threatening language: "We will know the names and addresses . . . " How does he propose we use this information? Burn crosses on lawns? Harass families? What?

Forsythe evidently equates the shutdown of memorials and parks and the hapless rangers with Hitler's paramilitary. He has forgotten that these closings were a result of a partial government shutdown, the House Republicans' fruitless effort to appease the fringe elements of their party.

Can he spare any outrage for the plight of the hungry? Maybe for government workers, who won't get paychecks? Patients who may die following suspension of experimental trials? Veterans whose applications for benefits will get no action? Consumers of our uninspected, unsafe food?

The victims of government shutdown are many. Forsythe should direct his anger at those who have little regard for their victims while they continue to collect their paychecks and use their gym.

BEVERLY SWIFT

Santa Rosa