There are some current political/environmental news worth discussing. Laguna was early in the game to stop-off shore drilling and so we never had to worry. Then there was a halt for a while, until Former President G. W. Bush lifted the ban and OK’d drilling in Alaska. Former President Obama said no more drilling off shore and stopped other areas of concern. Former President Trump lifted the ban and this is where we are now. Are we happy or… There is still an ongoing issue with wind-farms for energy. Many folks say “no” to that too because it spoils our view. However, we must reconcile ourselves with what is going on climate-wise and our ongoing increasing need for electricity (especially with electric cars becoming the norm) should we be more astute with our choices and decide what will mitigate our environment the least. Wind farms are becoming prevalent and accepted.
I suggested at a city council meeting that we should partner with Huntington Beach and its desalination plan (scheduled to open in 2023). Some people are squeamish about the idea of drinking unsalted ocean water but many folks are already using different systems to “purify” their water; that may not be an issue but we can use that water in case of fire, street sweeping and other large uses of water and save our “natural” water for human use would make sense. I really don’t care if I flush my toilet with desalinated water—do you? Hope it is not too late to consider something like this.
Finally I am watching the growing political momentum on women’s right to abortion. I finding it interesting that it is legally being driven by men in Texas. I also see its mostly men who are claiming that it is their constitutional right not to wear a mask or even get vaccinated. Which one has more consequences for our society right now, the spread of the Virus (and it has been and will continue to do so for the near future) or a woman choosing to have an abortion because she was raped, a child who was raped by a family member, lacks mental capacity to take care of a child (unfortunately we will be having many children whose caregiver is gone due to Covid and can they be adopted?). This is a decision between the woman, her faith, moral standards and I think it is her constitutional right as well. I see some hypocrisy here, do you?
Ganka Brown, Laguna Beach
