Reader comments
Davis Health Department opposes power plant

I'm surprised more people aren't fighting against this. Everyone freaked out over the impact of legacy highway, but this seems so much more intrusive and damaging to the local public and the environment we live in. where are all the voices of opposition????? We don't need more air pollution in this area! The air is already disgusting. And companies always seems to find a way around regulations. Pollution is pollution, regardless of how well it is controlled or regulated.

Everyone wants their homes heated, and all the neighborhood lit. We want to go to a store which is open 24/7, and have it all given to us cheaply. However, as soon as a powerplant to produce cheap fule is proposed, their is an outrage. Where do think the power is going to continue to come from.

Actually, I don't own a TV, VCR, DVD player, IPOD, car, etc. These supposed necessities for modern life are the latest in a long line of disposable consumer products designed to separate fools from their hard earned money, rob them of their health, and take away their family time and freedom. Power consumption is not a right. It's a necessity but not at the level in which most of us waste it. I could even do better, even after cutting out the waste above.

Separate from that, from what I've heard, the argument that we need this particular plant so we can keep our lights on and heat our homes is a red herring argument. If that is the case, why do we wish to add more air pollution to an area of the country that already cannot control it's air quality? As a year round cycling commuter, I'm amazed at how detached my fellow citizens seem from their own bodies, health, and what is beneficial vs. harmful. Is it logical to slowly undermine the health of our children by steadily adding more sources of air pollution when other (and supposedly better) solutions are available?

There are a lot of things that are thought of as progress, but aren't. Being wasteful is one of them. Just because we have the ability, through electricity to make life 72 degrees all the time, doesn't mean we have to. Just because businesses can afford to (economically) keep electric signs on all night, doesn't mean they have to. A few decades ago neither of these situations was true. Only businesses had air conditioning. Homes had fans, and it was common practice on hot days to crack the windows, pull down the shades, and not run heat producing appliances during the heat of the day. Now we call these times in the summer "peak-usage" hours. Businesses didn't keep lights on when closed. They turned thier signs off. We also didn't own multiple TVs or VCRs or computers, and the ones we had didn't have ghost circuits that constantly consumed power. We can all make choices; we can unplug or use plug strips to shut off the flow, we can use compact flourescents, we can simplify. Imagine how much electricty could be saved by simple conservation methods. Demand goes up largely because of choices, not necessities.