Marin IJ Readers’ Forum for Nov. 3, 2024

Petroleum consumption needs to be curbed now

The fine Marin Voice commentary by Jane Gould and Susannah Saunders (“It’s time for California to go all-in on fully electric vehicles,” Oct. 21) is helpful and points in a good direction.

I attended a talk by a Yale professor of environmental law about 20 years ago. He made the point that solutions to global warming would come from technology and behavior. He said the American public preferred technology solutions because we will “never take away the Chevy Suburban from a suburban mother who spends hours every day transporting children” to their activities. He said getting people to change how they live is a nonstarter.

Well, the time has come to seriously address the need for behavior change. Most cars that we drive are much larger and less efficient than they need to be. Many homes also have not been designed for energy efficiency — we heat and cool them too much. The list goes on.

Perhaps the quickest way to cut petroleum consumption to reduce carbon-dioxide emissions is to introduce energy taxes across the board, spurring conservation. But will the public accept this? As it stands, there is constant criticism of high gas costs, and America is actually among the lowest in the developed world. This will also require a close look at all forms of energy production and use.

Now is the time for serious discussion and change. And we will have to accept that there will be costs to be borne.

— Toby Marion, Tiburon

Concerned about issues related to EV batteries

I am writing in response to the recently published Marin Voice commentary by Jane Gould and Susannah Saunders (“It’s time for California to go all-in on fully electric vehicles,” Oct. 21). I think it sounds like another dispatch from the “Land of Privilege” as they extol a universal switch to electric cars.

Certainly the authors mean well, but the hidden damages from lithium mining used to make the batteries should have been mentioned. Lithium is toxic. Some of it comes from Africa and China, where environmental regulations are lax. In Nevada, a lithium mine is encroaching on land sacred to the local Indigenous people.

Lithium batteries are also flammable. If a certain set of criteria are present, a car left charging too long in a garage can ignite. There have been several fires on container ships transporting electric cars.

Fortunately, work is in progress to create hydrogen-powered batteries with water as the only by-product. I’m waiting for those.

On a more real-world level, buying a new electric car is an expensive proposition. Many of our vital service workers are fortunate if they can afford a used car or truck to get to work. These are often repaired and rehabbed by their friends or family members. Adding several hundred dollars a month in car payments is likely out of reach.

— Elaine Reichert, Santa Venetia

Cultivate gardens for butterflies, pollinators

One day, I had an idea. I leafleted our neighborhood, asking our neighbors if they would join me in cultivating organic bee and butterfly gardens, creating a collective organic butterfly/pollinator corridor. A third of the neighborhood immediately got on board. Later, a few more joined.

I think school PTAs can pass this on to schools. When kids get neighbors on board recruiting neighborhood gardening collectives, we can help to restore the dwindling pollinator habitat.

In the book, “Gardening for Butterflies,” Xerces Society biologists specify that pesticides and herbicides contribute to the diminishing butterfly and bee population, stressing that organic cultivation is deeply important. The book, “Toxic Legacy” by Stephanie Seneff, a senior research scientist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has been compared to Rachel Carson’s book, “Silent Spring.” Seneff wrote that in one orchard alone — sprayed with glyphosate, the active ingredient in some herbicides — lost a billion bees in one single winter. She added that droves of lawsuits are winning based on Non-Hodgkin lymphoma cases related to glyphosate spraying.

“Being organic” is no longer a luxury, but a necessity.

Remember to plant somewhere away from foot traffic to avoid bee stings. Enjoy the process and watch the pollinators thrive. We can help them. What can be more uplifting? It is joyous to see the gorgeous winged creatures. Have fun with this and please spread the word widely.

— Drina Brooke, Novato