Letters for Aug. 2, 2023

We can modernize services, save salmon

Two recent opinion pieces show the difference between the fearmongering misinformation put out by people like Jasen Bronec, CEO of Inland Power and Light (“Snake River dams are important for grid reliability, clean energy,” July 15), and the solutions-oriented rational position of Dan McDonald, president of the Yakima Bait Company (“Economic development for rural communities and recovery for imperiled salmon,” July 19).

Bronec suggests that losing the lower Snake River dams, which contribute just 4% of the region’s electricity, would somehow create darkness across the Pacific Northwest. He also skips right past the real heart of the issue – we as a region don’t just want “more salmon” – we want to save the fish we have left from impending extinction. The only way to do that is to breach the four lower Snake River dams. Small towns around the Northwest depend on reliable runs of salmon and steelhead to survive, and the value of fish to Northwest tribes is inestimable. Bronec and his allies aren’t interested in solutions that would actually restore salmon, just divisive rhetoric.

On the other hand, McDonald’s dedication to salmon recovery and full replacement of the dams’ services is admirable. Citing the proposal put forward by Rep. Mike Simpson of Idaho, he points to real solutions, real resources (thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act of 2021), and real momentum for a comprehensive change that will benefit both salmon and the entire Northwest. As McDonald points out, we have a significant opportunity to replace, modernize and improve the services provided by the dams, while saving salmon. Why wouldn’t we seize that chance?

Mitchell Cutter

Idaho Conservation League

Boise

Not sympathetic to fossil gas companies

Gas utilities such as Avista Corp. see the writing on the wall for their business model, which focuses on short-term profits at the expense of human health and a livable planet. Unfortunately, as the world boils with unprecedented heat waves, Avista continues to use revenue from our utility bills to litigate against the government for more profitability, even as the burning of fossil fuels is contrary to human rights for a stable climate. Gas utilities will never be moral and ethical. They are driven by an imperative to profit for their shareholders, not for our well-being.

What actually strains the electrical grid is ongoing fossil fueled climate breakdown as it leads to extreme rain and high winds that can cause widespread outages, as well as extreme heat and dependence on air conditioning.

Gas pipelines leak methane at much higher rates than previously understood, and methane is 87 times as potent as carbon dioxide at global warming over the next 20 years. Burning gas in the home also causes increases in asthma and exacerbations, making wildfire smoke much more dangerous. It’s worth noting that it’s often the lower-income communities that are most affected by fossil-fueled climate change.

Sadly, these are also the communities that utilities like Avista often aim to serve.

We have no time to wait to prevent human suffering.

We must stop listening to gas utilities and fossil fuel companies and support the construction of sustainable housing with heat pumps rather than leaky gas pipelines.

Claire Richards

Spokane

Recent political cartoons lack value

In recent days, The Spokesman-Review editorial page has featured some particularly childish political cartoons.

Surely we can do better than calling a supporter of one presidential candidate “a complete idiot” and labeling another candidate’s remarks as “stupid comments.” How does this contribute to intelligent discussion of the issues? Can we grow up and get past name-calling and cheap insults? Or do you subscribe to the saying, “The putdowns will continue until morale improves.”

Kathy Berrigan

Kettle Falls, Wash.