It was nice to hear that New Mexico and the Environmental Protection Agency have agreed on reduced emissions from the San Juan Generating Station. Shutting down two units of the 1,800 megawatt plant would appear to be taking 900 MW of coal-fired power off the grid. A 150 MW natural gas plant is to be built by the end of 2017 as a replacement to meet demand. I hope the “negotiators” considered renewable power. A 150 MW wind farm was built in Northern California in eight months for $235 million. A 150 MW solar photovoltaic array was built near Phoenix in 18 months for about $570 million. Both of these plants have zero fuel cost, no emissions, very small operations and maintenance costs and payback in about seven years. We do not have to wait five years to get rid of emissions and construct carbon-free power plants. At Four Corners, we can do it in less than one year.

Peter Borgo

Santa Fe

Climate ethics

Much of the president’s State of the Union speech was wonderful and I compliment him on it.

I am proud of President Barack Obama for being outspoken about the reality of climate change and for his commitment to actually act to mitigate its disastrous impacts.

He mentioned that climate change is an ethical issue. As a Rabbinic pastor, I agree and thank him for saying this publicly.

However, the president cannot decrease the amount of carbon and methane in the atmosphere (which are the two major drivers of climate change) while continuing to support increases in coal, oil and gas production and use.

I believe that he knows this to be true.

President Obama cannot and must not “compromise” with the unethical. It’s not about bipartisanship. It’s about doing the ethical thing.

Andrew Gold

Santa Fe

A second chance

Kudos to The New Mexican for running the sad story of the violence perpetrated on a recent newcomer to our community, Brian Ryder, on the front page (“Wounded warrior’s ‘nightmare,’ ” Feb. 14). Coincidentally, the next day, more than a thousand of us took part in the One Billion Rising event to bring attention to the violence and assaults committed against women every day. We also know that despite gender, humans commit violence on one another in general, as Ryder’s story shows. Once again, a gun was used in the crime.

Equally important is your follow-up (“Offers of aid pour in for veteran robbed at gunpoint,” Feb. 15) that detailed the many offers of aid that have poured in for Ryder. It is heartwarming and reassuring when the better angels of our nature make themselves known in situations like this. Let’s hope Ryder gets his service dog and a second chance to recover from the traumas that he has endured as a veteran and as a new citizen in New Mexico.

Sandra Schackel

Santa Fe