Letters to the Editor
Tobacco companies don’t sponsor events
Editor:
Kudos to Socorro local events! Over the past six months I have been attending local events, researching to see if they were sponsored by tobacco companies.
The event coordinators that I have spoken with about if they sought any kind of tobacco sponsorship were very helpful and showed great promise.
In the past six months the events I have attended were Alamo Indian Days, the rodeo, mud bogs, Cinco de Mayo Rodeo and the Socorro Open golf tournament. These events have had a great amount of community participation.
This year none of these events received any tobacco sponsorship. It is interesting because in the past some of these events have actually received some kind of sponsorship from tobacco companies. The event coordinators know the harmful effects of tobacco and have refused to promote such a health hazard.
I believe the more education that we all receive on the harmful effects of tobacco, the more we will understand and the more we will be able to make a well-informed decision when it comes to tobacco.
Tobacco does not only affect the person using it, it also affects those around them including their family.
Some facts for thought:
• Secondhand smoke is not just a nuisance, it’s dangerous! 100 percent smoke-free public places and workplaces protect the health of our community.
• We all have a right to breathe clean, safe, smoke-free indoor air! Secondhand smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals, including 200 poisons (over 40 are known to cause cancer).
Thanks Socorro! You are doing a great job!
Richard Chavez, Tobacco Program Coordinator
Misconceptions about solar panels
Editor:
Please allow me to clear up a few misconceptions about solar panels.
1. Cost: two solar panels installed at ground level cost $18,000; less for roof-top installation.
2. Here is how it works: The panels produce power which is sent to the utility on already existing lines. The homeowner buys power from the utility.
3. We are not “financially better off”. We are retirees on a fixed income and the panels are unlikely to pay for themselves in our lifetime because there is no law that says we should be fairly compensated.
We pay the RETAIL price for power but get credit for only the WHOLESALE cost. The difference can be as much as .09 or .10 cents per KWH. I thought that “net metering” was an exchange at the same rate but I soon learned the utility does not need to do that. Some utilities (PNM for one) pay MORE for green power generated by a customer’s panels because they in turn, are compensated by the government for using clean energy. They also want to encourage the production of more clean energy.
The panel owner gets paid for “renewable energy credits” if the utility cares to pass them on. There is no law that says they must do so. Are our legislators behind on that? Of course, but sadly they are behind on so much more! (What do they do, besides amateur photography — no, let’s not go there!)
As it is, the utility can make money on a panel owner. Why wouldn’t that lower the price for everyone? Again, only if they care to pass it on.
4. The way a subsidy works does not cost anybody more. The savings occur because the utility has an arrangement with a panel manufacturer to buy at wholesale and hires a company to do all installations at a lower cost. These savings can be significant and the purchase helps create jobs! The utility can also set up a payment plan for panel owners so they do not have to pay one lump sum.
5. If more people were encouraged to produce solar power it would be environmentally beneficial to us all. We need clean air because if we can’t breathe, we can’t live and the effects of climate change have recently become much more extreme. (Drought, wildfires, extreme storms, and floods.) The power lines already exist and can just as easily be used to transmit power back to the utility for ourselves or others to use. Solar power does not pollute and it is something we can do to make our world a better place to live.
And this world needs all the help it can get!
Barbara Moore, Magdalena