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Oil companies should
stop emissions from oil wells
California’s 40,000 idle oil and gas wells and 60,000 active wells are leaking toxic chemicals like carcinogenic benzene and methane, a greenhouse gas with 80 times the global warming power of carbon dioxide.
Current law allows oil companies to pay a small fee to avoid plugging unused wells, but the oil industry has yet to clean them up, potentially leaving taxpayers with a multi-billion dollar bill.
California Assembly Bill 1866 would require oil companies to plug up to 20% of their unused wells per year. With this bill, Californians will benefit from improved health and safety, reduced air pollution, the creation of thousands of jobs, and a major step forward in combating the man-made climate crisis.
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Please call or write your State Representative and State Senator and ask them to support AB 1866. Your efforts could greatly benefit our world.
Ron Sadler
Livermore
Passenger safety is
FAA, TSA Job 1
Subject: “FAA, TSA Must Do More to Manage Passenger Surges” (page A8, July 21).
Sheldon Jacobson’s article was what I expected from an academic: lots of magical thinking, but few realistic solutions.
He believes government and business must do more to improve the passenger experience. He fails to understand that most of the improvements he cites would require action by Congress.
AI-Powered Air Traffic Control Improvements? The US handles 45,000 flights a day. You can’t just say, “Let’s see what AI would do.” I’ve helped design and install new air traffic control technologies. It’s a deliberate process because lives are at stake.
As for a more cooperative approach that puts passengers first, the FAA and airlines meet regularly and often throughout a typical day, but the overarching goal, as it should be, is safety and efficiency.
The best passenger experience is arriving at your destination safely, even if it’s not always on time.
Thomas Gray
Livermore
Candidate Trump shows
The GOP has no character
Character is truly destiny, and the Republican Party has shown shamelessly that it has no character.
They named a felon charged with 34 counts, a convicted sex offender, a convicted con man for his business dealings, and a thief charged with classified documents that he shared with unauthorized people. And now we’re supposed to hand him even more classified documents because he’s so trustworthy.
He openly stated in advance that he would only accept the results of this election if he won. That should be disqualifying. How many football or baseball games would people attend if one team said they would only accept the results of the game if they won?
Seriously, who in their right mind thinks they are the best person to lead our country? Make your best case and may the best person win…the best person.
Zoe Simons
Concorde
Difference between parties
is in the acceptance of the fault
Subject: “The right must stop its dangerous rhetoric” and “The left is stirring up indignation and anger” (Page A9, July 21).
Thanks for the side-by-side op-eds from Americans for Democratic Action (Don Kusler) and the Coolidge Reagan Foundation (Shaun McCutcheon).
What struck me was that Kusler’s article also mentioned the rhetoric that his own party was responsible, which McCutcheon did not. McCutcheon also did not mention the opportunity that former President Trump had on January 6 to stop the violence, but did not take any action.
McCutcheon also failed to mention that over 93% of the protests in honor of George Floyd were peaceful. This does not excuse non-peaceful protests, but McCutcheon ignores the millions of people who participated in non-violent protests.
But I have a question: If a president of the United States refuses to stop the violence committed by his own supporters, then who listens when asked?
Lisa Rigge
Pleasanton
