Hydrogen power is the path forward
Regarding “California must invest in hydrogen infrastructure to meet zeroemission goals” (SFChronicle.com, Feb. 26): Bravo to Assembly Members Autumn Burk and Bill Quirk for making the case for increased support for hydrogen power. As they explain, hydrogen fuel cell technology can solve some of the most challenging aspects of our transition to an emissionsfree transportation system. It eliminates range anxiety.
Hydrogenpowered vehicles can also refuel in minutes, much quicker than electric vehicles can recharge. For trucks and heavy equipment, hydrogen can provide power reserves that batteries presently can’t. By using power from renewable sources at peak production times to create hydrogen, we can store solar and wind energy that we would otherwise not be able to use, and without the expense and environmental destruction of a massive investment in battery manufacturing. Hydrogen power is a necessary complement to electric power as we move away from a fossil fuel economy.
Mark Valentine, Oakland
Misplaced support
Regarding “Florida GOP gathering offers forum for Trump claims” (Feb. 26): Let me get this straight. Today’s GOP overwhelmingly supports a disgraced oneterm president as its leader, someone who lost the House, Senate and White House, left the economy in shambles, lost hundreds of thousands of lives needlessly to a deadly pandemic that he ignored, left a divided country isolated on the international stage and promoted the baseless conspiracy theory that he actually won reelection. Am I missing something?
John Brooks, Fairfax
Clock is ticking
Our planet is home to countless different species, and every day new ones are discovered and born. However, as our planet’s climate continues to be changed by the aggressive impacts of climate change, more than a million of these species face extinction. Unfortunately, the human species has not escaped that list. Every year temperatures rise and as summers become hotter, we see how easily 4 million acres can burn in one summer season, like we did in 2020. It is becoming clear that we must make a bigger effort than ever before to fight climate change. I’d like to live past the year 2030, when many of the effects of climate change will be irreversible, without seeing the world turn into the catastrophic aftermath of climate change. That’s why Gov. Gavin Newsom must change his clean energy deadline for California from 2045 to 2030.
Abigail St Andrew, Palmdale
Shots for educators
If California were serious about reopening inperson school, then vaccinating teachers/staff would be the priority after health care workers and those 65 and older. Have school districts manage the scheduling and county health care administer shots onsite to all employees that work at schools (nonessential district staff can wait). Why aren’t they? California’s government doesn’t want to set aside the necessary amount of vaccines. Educators and therefore safe inperson school are not California’s priorities. So is teaching like working in a store? No. What stores do you shop in where 15plus people are 34 feet from each other for an extended time in an area of 24by36 feet? That’s a hybrid classroom for middle school (MS) where half of the students are in class at a time. In normal school, there would be 30plus people 12 feet from each other. MS students normally go to seven classes with 30plus other students, creating extended daily exposure to 200plus people. Hybrid school would cut the number down, although passing periods and lunch means some contact between everyone. No time for disinfecting rooms between classes in MS, so the plan is to rely completely on the maskwearing and personal hygiene of tweens/teenagers. Vaccines anyone?
Kelly Ryan, Danville
Amazon’s efficiency
Regarding “Outsource school reopenings” (Feb. 21): Kudos to Joe Matthews for his brilliant suggestion for getting our schools open and running. No matter how we may feel about Amazon’s business practices, they are efficient, and efficiency is what we need desperately right now. Perhaps we should also consider putting them in charge of distributing the vaccine and paying unemployment benefits. Why waste such a valuable resource? Dorothy Auerbach, San Francisco