Support zero-carbon sources, not biomass

Biomass is burning trees for electricity and it is being promoted by politicians and the logging industry claiming that biomass will reduce wildfires and provide jobs. According to the California Energy Commission, the biomass industry is more climate-polluting than coal. It is a dirty source of energy.

Fortunately, due to public protests (over 5,500 comments and letters), the plan to build two huge biomass wood pellet plants in Lassen and Tuolumne Counties has been cancelled. e wood pellets were to be shipped to Europe and Asia to burn for commercial electricity. The basic idea was to burn California trees to light up Paris.

In June, GSNR (Golden State Natural Resources), a non-profit agency made up of county supervisors, will stop subsidizing the biomass industry from clearcutting and sourcing our forests for private profit.

The biomass industry claims that the source for wood pellets are forest waste and residue but under the guise of salvage logging, our big trees and clear-cuts have harmed our forests. It is a shame that time and taxpayer money were wasted on this oversized absurd plan. Our public money should be invested in zero-carbon sources like solar and wind. The focus should be on cutting emissions and on forest management driven by the community and not by corporate interests looking to make a profit.

Fortunately, the public saw through this scheme and opposed this big idea that just didn’t make sense.

— Jean Marquardt, Chico

Where’s the apology over Epstein Files?

I want a reporter to ask Bondi or Patel or Bondino or anyone who spread the Epstein Files story this question: For years you perpetuated a story about a “client list” and other details contained in the Epstein files. You were adamant and very vocal about what was in the files, despite having no apparent concrete evidence. You fired up people and in some cases reaped financial rewards by garnering followers to your podcasts, etc.

Now that you (Bondi in particular) have said there’s nothing to see, are you prepared to apologize to the American people? Will you say you lied to us? Will you say you spun the tale for your personal, political and financial gain?

The short answer is likely, NO.

I’ll be very interested to see how they spin this. And spin they will, until their credulous followers are convinced it had something to do with Obama or Hillary or the Deep State or Kamala or Benghazi or Biden’s autopen or Hunter’s laptop or trans athletes or JFK Jr. and on and on.

When Bondino et al roll over and beg for forgiveness from their supreme leader, it will be the final capitulation —their final act of cowardice and submission. It was never really about Epstein. It was about testing the limits of gullibility and grift. Apparently there is no limit.

However, sometimes when you create a monster, the monster eats you.

We shall see.

And so it goes.

— Doug Keister, Chico

Why it’s illegal for a state to secede

Thomas Elias had a good column on the possibility of California seceding from these United States but one thing that was not mentioned: secession was made illegal 160 years ago.

In 1787, the second Constitution was drafted to give more power to the national government of the voluntary union but neither it nor the first Constitution adopted in 1781 said that the states lost their rights to leave this voluntary union. In fact, under the Tenth Amendment, the secession decision was left to the states as it was NOT prohibited to them nor was it delegated to the national government by the constitution. Also the Ninth Amendment states that any unspecified rights are left to the people.

However, when in 1860/61 they attempted to exercise their Ninth and Tenth Amendment rights, Lincoln seized dictatorial power and, through a war against the American people, prevented them from doing so.

Since Lincoln stripped the states and the American people of their constitutional right to secede, California cannot do so! But, IF they do attempt to do so, then I hope that whomever is president of these United States at the time, will immediately use the entire military power to crush it at the outset as we don’t need another four-year war.

— Dennis B. Swaney, Prescott, Ariz.