Bush Reneges on Air

* First President Bush wanted to open up the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling, and now he is telling his friends in the energy industry they don’t have to clean up their act, all under the guise of solving California’s energy problem (March 14).

During the campaign, Bush also spoke of energy conservation as a means of dealing with environmental problems, such as global warming. I suppose that is forgotten as well. It is clear that this administration is more interested in doing favors for its friends than in dealing with problems in an intelligent and statesmanlike manner.

PAUL W. ROSENBERGER

Manhattan Beach

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* If anyone really hopes to stop global warming in its tracks, the only solution is to cut global releases of carbon dioxide to the level of a century ago. Nuclear power would help; it releases no greenhouse gases at all, which shows that environmentalists turned against it far too precipitously. However, even the Kyoto protocols, which seek to restrict worldwide carbon dioxide releases, would merely produce a brief delay in the inevitable warming.

Kyoto is no more than a feel-good piece of nonsense. Bush is aware of this, and he shows wisdom by not pandering to the feel-good types.

T.A. HEPPENHEIMER

Fountain Valley

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* In canceling his pledge to reduce CO2 emissions, President Bush says that he just discovered what the three little pigs knew all along: In the short run it always costs more to do the job right than to cut corners. But we’re here for the long run. Now that he has learned the little pigs’ lesson, he should revise his tax cut proposal to accommodate the need to build our programs from brick, not straw.

PETER ISRAEL

Sherman Oaks

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* Thank goodness we have a president who can exercise common sense, as demonstrated by his refusal to implement restrictive and energy-hobbling carbon dioxide standards. Instead he will address cleaning up and modernizing existing coal-fired generation plants. The environmental extremists who put salmon ahead of civilized society and who are the root cause of the current energy crisis will, with a knee-jerk reaction, attack Bush. Maybe, finally, there will be a balance between the needs of society and the needs of the salmon lovers and tree huggers!

C.J. O’CONNELL

Stevenson Ranch

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* Re “A Pressured Bush Retreats,” editorial, March 15: It’s too bad we elected Bush president instead of Ralph Nader, who would have already turned off the coal-fired electricity producing plants and you would now be sitting there reading this in the dark.

BILL ELLIS

Culver City

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* How is President Bush different from President Clinton? Clinton has been accused of giving in to pressure to give pardons. Bush is being pressured by the energy industry, which donated millions of dollars to his political campaign.

Once again, money comes before people’s health. Sure, the consumer wants to pay less for energy, but not at the expense of his/her health, which will continue to be harmed by an abundance of carbon dioxide polluting the air. People’s health should come first.

ALMA HERMAN

Fountain Valley