Letters to editor: Local environmental group spreads misinformation about offshore wind | Opinion
The real extremists
“Morro Bay group claims offshore wind surveys kill marine life,” (sanluisobispo.com, March 13)
In this piece of great investigative journalism, we learned from interviewed experts that proposed technologies for characterizing the seafloor in support of understanding the feasibility of turbine anchoring/infrastructure have been/are employed by a multitude of organizations, with negligible impact to sea life. Onboard marine biologists will temporarily stop the survey if endangered species are observed. Biological surveys are planned for environmental impact studies along with identifying potential mitigating actions.
Yet the Morro Bay Group REACT is against the ocean surveys and plans to protest offshore wind at every step. REACT’s leader indicated that they would consider taking money from the fossil fuel industry if it came down to a lawsuit. Really? REACT is open to taking money from an industry that has spread disinformation about climate change for decades and now admits to plans for unfettered oil and gas production going forward? That is extreme.
Dean Thomas
San Luis Obispo
Health of our planet
“Morro Bay group claims offshore wind surveys kill marine life,” (sanluisobispo.com, March 13)
Thank you for the excellent “reality check” article on the environmental impact of surveys conducted for proposed offshore wind (OSW) projects. Having worked for the city of Morro Bay, I know many of the folks in the REACT group and worked side-by-side with some of them to make Morro Bay the beautiful place that it is today. It saddens me to see them taking positions against OSW based on inaccurate information and, in turn, spreading that misinformation in the community.
I, too, have concerns about OSW and its impact on the local environment, but I try not to forget the bigger picture. Whales and other marine creatures are facing a present and growing threat from climate change fueled by the burning of fossil fuels. Rising ocean temperatures disrupt feeding grounds, alter migration patterns and harm vital ecosystems. As krill populations shift due to warming, whales struggle to find food, impacting their health and reproduction.
The transition to clean energy such as OSW is needed now and can be done responsibly. The future of the whales and the health of our planet depends on it!
Barry Rands
San Luis Obispo
Opinion
Looking forward
“Morro Bay group claims offshore wind surveys kill marine life,” (sanluisobispo.com, March 13)
Thank you for your vital new “reality check” series and for including offshore wind development as the first topic of interest. We know that the climate crisis is largely caused by fossil fuels. As we work to preserve a livable world for future generations, we need to be well informed on the facts about sustainable energy sources, including one of the cleanest: wind energy. For constructive public discourse and sound decision-making to take place, we should inform ourselves with facts from trustworthy sources and data-driven research.
Your well researched articles clarify that the ocean surveys off the San Luis Obispo County coastline will be following safe, established practices. When it comes to our oceans, we should remember that it is climate change caused by using fossil fuels that is threatening marine life.
It is good news that many nations are adopting offshore wind as a major tool to transition to carbon free electricity. Just this month, America’s first commercial scale offshore wind farm began delivering clean power to New York’s electric grid. Later this year, another offshore wind farm will begin powering homes and businesses in Massachusetts. We need to be equally forward-looking in California.
Mila Vujovich LaBarre
Sierra Club Santa Lucia Chapter, chair
Eric Veium
SLO Climate Coalition, co-chair
Sandy Simon
SLO County Citizens’ Climate Education
A reader’s questions
“SLO readers opposed battery storage plant in Morro Bay,” (sanluisobispo.com, Sept. 22, 2023)
Under Assembly Bill 205, signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom in 2022, energy bills would take into account customers’ incomes. People protested to the California Public Utilities Commission, asking them to either reject the proposal (partly because it would not reward customers who work hard to reduce energy usage) or provide guidance to the Legislature to change the law in a way that does not harm the middle class.
Reality Check: Is this law going to be implemented? Are rates going to be based on customers’ incomes? Is that section taking effect? If so, when?
Another section of AB 205 applies to the permitting process of green energy projects, providing an expedited pathway for approval of projects that address climate change. The California Energy Commission could conceivably intervene and fast-track such a project.
Has this process been utilized by the CEC? How will this affect local control (such as in the case of the Morro Bay battery storage plant)?
Carol Swain
Morro Bay
The takeaway from the Hur report
“The Hur interview transcript offers a window into the life of ‘frustrated architect’ Joe Biden,” (sanluisobispo.com, March 15)
Special Counsel Robert Hur is probably not qualified to assess cognitive function, and his report contains statements about President Joe Biden’s mental state that are gratuitous and political.
That said, Hur is an experienced prosecutor who is qualified to assess how a prosecution would go in front of a jury — which is what he did. He followed the facts and the law and concluded that Biden should not be prosecuted, noting the huge differences between this case and the classified documents case against Donald Trump.
While we may feel that statements in Hur’s report about Biden’s memory were political, we should celebrate the fact that the Biden White House allowed a Trump appointee to do his job without political interference — a process which would not have happened under the prior administration.
This should also put to rest Republican claims that the Department of Justice has somehow been “weaponized” against Trump and his cronies. In fact, Biden has bent over backwards to keep prosecutorial decisions at the DOJ from being politicized. As a country, we should be very proud of that.
Christopher Toews
San Luis Obispo
