Letters for July 20

Worst shortage comes from leadership

America is facing an immediate shortage of electricity.

The solution that we hear from the Trump administration is to abandon the development of renewable energy sources, turn back the clock 100 years and expand the use of fossil fuels. Environmental impact “be damned.”

What we really have is a critical shortage of leadership that understands that energy, water and climate are all interconnected and that we have a crisis of all three.

Climate change is no longer a hollow threat – it’s here and getting worse.

Daily reports of weather extremes causing drought, heat waves and severe storms serve as proof of this reality.

Locally, we are witnessing the impact as it affects water in our rivers and aquifer. Summer was barely a week old and the flows in the Spokane, St. Joe and Coeur d’Alene rivers were at levels not expected until late summer. Last winter’s good snowpack vanished over two months ago.

Regionally, how this affects hydropower is obvious: There won’t be much.

Regarding the forecast shortage of electricity, we need to question, “Why has the Northwest gone from having a large surplus of power to a shortage?” It’s being driven by more than a water crisis. The demand for electricity to power the crypto currency, data storage and artificial intelligence industries is overwhelming the power grid.

Do these industries contribute enough to society to justify sacrificing endangered species, treaty obligation, breathable air and clean water? Society needs to decide if this greedy power grab is worth these sacrifices. It should be a “no-brainer.”

Harvey Morrison

Spokane

Global MLB tries to squash tiny Everett

Major League Baseball is pursuing a global marketing plan. Everett is a tiny piece of it.

Major League Baseball competes with the NFL and other sports.

Everett has a population of 111,000 while the MLB operates a global marketing plan that ranges from Europe to Asia and includes all of North America.

The clear marketing plan of Major League Baseball is to use public tax dollars to upgrade minor league baseball stadiums, resulting in the enrichment of MLB billionaire owners.

Everett has such a minor league stadium proposed.

In 2022, the Seattle Mariners’ ownership openly promoted the MLB marketing plan, supported and paid for stadium studies for Everett and Snohomish County, and endorsed the AquaSox ownership group.

The AquaSox’s ownership group owns three minor league baseball teams and has a long history of being associated with Dubai Group and Dubai Holding, a $130 billion organization.

Major League Baseball has joined forces with professional soccer in Everett.

Are councilmembers and the entire state legislature aware of the global marketing plans of the MLB or global soccer marketing and the Aquasox’s long ties to Dubai?

Tiny Everett is getting squashed by Major League Baseball and FIFA.

City, county and state representatives don’t seem to know and don’t seem to be listening.

Say something.

John E. Martin

Mountlake Terrace, Wash.