Jeff Azlin: No surprise Bee supports job-killing Obama power plan
Re “Time for every state to kick the coal habit” (Opinions, Aug. 5): It was no great surprise that The Bee editors endorsed the Clean Power Plan rolled out by the Obama administration as if was going to save the planet. The problem with moving away from coal-fired power plants is so obvious that I am astounded the energy experts at The Bee didn’t point them out. Namely, that solar and wind energy cannot respond to peak demand, are horribly inefficient, kill lots of birds and solar only works, at best, half the time. What happens in the winter when there is only eight hours of low-intensity sunlight? The required power must be generated somewhere, right?
New, rules only designed to shutter coal-fired power plants in this country will drive up the cost of electricity for everyone, make us less competitive and not appreciably reduce world carbon emissions. Pollution travels around the world. The Bee editors admitted this but glossed over it in their glee for new rules to drive dirty power generators out of business.
If The Bee is so concerned with the environment, why does it now print the paper in Sacramento and then burn fossil fuels to have them delivered to Modesto? Is McClatchy willing to pay 30, 50 or 100 percent more for electricity? Not likely.
Jeff Azlin, Modesto
Editor’s note: The Bee is printed in Sacramento where power is supplied by Sacramento Municipal Utilities District, which has no coal-powered generation.
This story was originally published August 5, 2015 at 6:34 PM with the headline "Jeff Azlin: No surprise Bee supports job-killing Obama power plan."