Thursday’s Letters to the Editor

Tesla vandalism

EDITOR: How sad that we have come to this. The car you own will now subject you to possible violence. I don’t understand this. So you are a Democrat or a liberal or an actual casualty of Musktrumpian behavior. March, protest, chant, curse, yes. But you have no right to damage someone else’s property or threaten them with bodily harm. However you identify, stop acting like a Jan. 6 hooligan.

CHRIS THWAITES

Santa Rosa

Solar power math

EDITOR: A Press Democrat editorial advised the California Public Utilities Commission to check its math before further disincentivizing and voiding existing contracts between utilities and those of us who installed rooftop solar before April 1, 2023 (“Check math before cutting solar credit,” March 20). I did that, and I saved the check stubs so my math wouldn’t get fuzzy.

In my “true up” period for 2023, I received a check for $588.16 for the 5,843 excess kilowatt-hours I sent to the grid. That equals 10 cents per kilowatt-hour. PG&E sold those kilowatt-hours for an average of 38 cents, a markup of 280%. In 2024, my true up check was $358.28 for 4,031 kilowatt-hours, or 8.9 cents per kilowatt-hour. PG&E sold those kilowatt-hours for an average of 45 cents, a markup of 405%. I also pay $12.14 per month for the privilege of giving PG&E extra power to sell at a huge profit, but I guess I’m the one to blame for high electric rates.

Although the editorial tried to appear balanced, it really struck out by saying rooftop solar could wind up being a costly misadventure. Nothing could be further from the truth. In fact, it might be the only available solution for avoiding the poorhouse. The CPUC needs to be reminded that “public” is what they’re supposed to represent.

JONATHAN McCLELLAND

Santa Rosa

No mystery

EDITOR: For Donald Trump, size matters. I think this is why he is upset about Canada not fawning all over him to join the U.S. as its 51st state. Check out the globe — Russia has the greatest land mass of any country on the planet, covering 6.5 million square miles. In comparison, the U.S. is practically a shrimp, although the third-largest country in land mass at 3.7 million square miles.

Trump needs to be the big man in the room, all rooms. He could really feel that if only Canada would only acquiesce to his dream. Canada’s land mass is second largest on the planet at 3.8 million square miles. If Trump could claim it under his watch, the U.S. would be larger than Russia and in first place on size at more than 7 million square miles. As Trump said himself, it would be “beautiful,” the map would be “beautiful,” if only Canada would roll over. Begs the question, how far will he go to force the issue on our friendly neighbor.

MICKY POTERACKE

Santa Rosa

Trump’s foreign policy

EDITOR: Either Donald Trump is unable to foresee the consequences of his actions, or even scarier, he is creating his own brand of diplomacy on purpose. And such actions are against the best interests of the United States.

For instance, Trump says “we will go as far as we have to” to get control of Greenland. What would I do if I were Greenland, Canada, or any other country, for instance Panama, being threatened by a foreign power? I would ally myself with powers that aren’t friendly to that foreign power; in this case, enemies of the U.S. If the U.S. attacked, we would go into World War III.

In addition, China would respond with, “If Trump can attack Greenland, then we have the right to take Tawain. What’s the difference?” And all of Europe would start cutting deals with Vladimir Putin to counteract any U.S. takeover.

The result as this plays out would be no U.S. takeover of Greenland, but instead fear and suspicion and the loss of all our former long-term allies. Such a deal.

CARL MERNER

Holualoa, Hawaii

AI power grab

EDITOR: Air pollution and carbon emissions are well known environmental costs of artificial intelligence. Less known are the environmental impacts of electricity and water consumption. AI growth is doubling every 100 days. AI systems already use 33 times more energy than task-specific software would. A typical data center uses just under 1300 megawatt-hours, roughly equivalent to that used by 130 homes, and these centers run 24 hours a day. Generative AI data centers are expected to consume 8% of U.S. power by 2030. Add in the fact that more than 26,000 electric vehicle chargers were added in California between August and February, and one gets a clearer picture of the future impact on our already strained electrical grid. These data centers also use enormous amounts of water for on-site cooling and off-site electricity generation. We do not know how much since water consumption is not collected or reported. This “progress” must be regulated.

WILLIAM CAMPAGNA

Cotati

You can send letters to the editor to letters@pressdemocrat.com.