Standing up for America
Thank you, Chief Acevedo
Regarding “We must ask the hard questions about Capitol attack,” (A13, Jan. 14): To Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo, thank you for your well-written and thoughtful article. Everything you wrote is what most Americans are thinking. Thank you for standing up for the America that we know!
Sylvia Landry, Houston
Responsibility
Regarding “Impeaching Trump is the only option,” (A14, Jan. 13): Your editorial properly points out President Trump’s responsibility for the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol Building and the five deaths that happened that day.
It also needs to be recognized that Trump’s lack of competent leadership over COVID-19 makes him also responsible for what is approaching 400,000 American deaths in less than a year.
William Greene, League City
Energy transition
Regarding “Growing support for methane regulation,” (A15, Jan. 13): While Houston may not see it, the movement for climate action is huge. Every 500-year flood, lethal heat wave and climate refugee adds more momentum.
Since 2009, the price of wind power has fallen 69 percent and solar 88 percent. Now they are cheaper than gas in most of the world, according to a Bloomberg NEF analysis. Why tie up your money in liquid natural gas when too soon it may be obsolete or outlawed? Or both?
LNG is not only nearsighted, but it’s wrong. The pope said, “Leaving an inhabitable planet to future generations is, first and foremost, up to us.”
Nan Hildreth, Houston Regarding “Changing attitudes,” (A13, Jan. 4): You know the Latin phrase carpe diem. When it comes to energy transition, Enbridge’s position is: Let’s seize this opportunity — everyone benefits from cleaner and affordable energy.
Enbridge’s name underscores our ambition to be a bridge between supply and demand, a bridge to energy’s future. Twenty years ago, we added renewables to our growing natural gas and oil businesses.
We have 22 wind farms, including three in Texas, that cleanly power Lone Star homes and businesses.
Transition requires innovation across the entire energy system. This means continued focus on cleaner natural gas and oil, alongside increased renewables. Our own innovation labs are using predictive analytics to improve efficiency and reduce emissions. And, we’re advancing renewable natural gas, hydrogen, and exploring carbon capture utilization and storage. In New Jersey, solar panels power our natural gas pipeline operations, and we’ll soon expand this elsewhere. In November, we set greenhouse gas targets to further reduce our emissions intensity by 35 percent by 2030 and reach net zero by 2050.
The IEA predicts growing populations and rising standards of living will increase demand for energy through 2040. That demand cannot be supplied by renewables alone.
Energy transition is not an either/or proposition. It necessitates a complementary approach that ensures reliable, accessible and affordable energy. Conventional energy — natural gas and oil — will be needed for many years.
Providing energy sustainably, by balancing economic and environmental imperatives, is not only possible, it’s essential as we recover, rebuild and reposition for a better future.
Bill Yardley, EVP and president, Gas Transmission and Midstream, Enbridge