It is easy to ignore the hidden cost of electric cars: more stress on the power grid, exploitative mining operations in third world countries, hazardous waste, now toxic fumes, but… zero emissions! (“Fire at PG&E’s Moss Landing battery plant causes Highway 1 closure, shelter-in-place order,” posted Sept. 20.) Phil Candreva | social media

There needs to be an investigative report done on that fire (“Smoke and fire at the Moss Landing battery plants raise serious questions,” posted Sept. 21). There is not a coffee shop nor bar nor restaurant in this county where people are not asking about what happened and what was the danger?

We are not allowed to take lithium-ion batteries onto a plane nor put them in the mail because they can be explosive. OK – so we have the largest lithium-ion battery in the world in our backyard. We need a lot of devils’ advocates asking a hell of a lot of questions. P. Soares | via email

Good article, which raises important questions. I have two observations:

1. The concept of distributing energy from massive central plants over dangerous power lines belongs in the age of the dinosaurs. Power lines are burning up our state; they also degrade the views, tie up land which could be better used elsewhere, and are as inefficient as hell. Power should be generated where it’s used. Imagine using the centralized model for other types of utility needs – imagine an immense water heater and a network of pipes to get that hot water to all the homes in the Monterey area. It just shows how ridiculous the current model is.

2. There is an alternative to rare lithium – a substance which does not burst into flames without warning. Sodium-ion battery development is coming along quite nicely.

So here’s the ideal future: energy generated where it’s used, and stored in sodium-ion batteries. Donald M. Scott | Carson City, Nevada

Your thoughtful article triggered a memory of the fire from Sept. 14, 1924 when a 55,000-gallon oil tank, ignited by lightning storm, started burning in the area of the Coast Guard Pier threatening all of Cannery Row. Firefighters from Monterey, P.G., Carmel and Salinas plus 900 soldiers fought the fire for three days. Two soldiers died in the flames (one of them Private Bolio), as well as two firefighters.

I reread all of this in Jim Conway’s book Monterey – Presidio, Pueblo and Port. It puts additional perspective on our continuing human striving to master/develop resources we think are necessary to utilize or use to maintain our standards of living.

What did the city do? As Conway reports in his book, only a week after the fire the City Council and City Attorney told the oil companies that they would not permit replacement storage tanks – a wise move by Monterey City Council.

Almost two weeks later, on Sept. 27, 1924, a large fire at the Del Monte Hotel (at today’s Naval Postgraduate School) destroyed the main building. Hans Uslar | Monterey

Uslar is Monterey city manager.

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Great reporting on housing and our water woes – once again you nailed it (“Why ‘sorry, no water’ isn’t going to cut it during this Regional Housing Needs Allocation process,” posted Sept. 22). The people who need housing are already here, using water. Christina Lund | Pacific Grove

We don’t need Cal Am’s desal plant (“The debate over Cal Am’s desalination plant returns to center stage,” Sept. 15-21). AMBAG’s growth forecast proves that the Pure Water Monterey expansion is enough water to meet the current RHNA housing demand. We’ll need about 800 acre-feet more water by the year 2045 for housing and development. But Cal Am wants us to pay for 6,250 acre-feet of extraordinarily expensive desalinated water.

Tell the Coastal Commission “No Cal Am desal” on Nov. 17. We don’t need it. We can’t afford it. Melodie Chrislock | Carmel

Chrislock is managing director of Public Water Now.

Thanks for your report on Cal Am’s desal project. The Coastal Commission staff twice recommended denial based on environmental damage, extremely high cost, and Marina bears the project with no benefit.

Expansion of Pure Water Monterey supplies adequate water, including for growth, for 20-30 years, as verified by the Monterey Peninsula Water Management District’s analysis, available at mpwmd.org. Susan Schiavone | Seaside

I have oodles of admiration for Mayor Alison Kerr for continuing to contribute her energy and talent to our little city of DRO (“The mayoral and council races in sleepy Del Rey Oaks promise to be spicy, per usual,” Sept. 22-28). She has valiantly done hard, mostly thankless work, weathering verbal abuse from some members of the DRO City Council. Other candidates have told the NIMBYs opposing FORTAG that somehow it won’t happen, even if their views will impact all of Monterey County negatively. Susan Ragsdale-Cronin | Del Rey Oaks

Because you printed two letters criticizing Rob Rogers and the fact that his cartoon was moved to the classified section, I’m worried that we might lose him. Please don’t cancel him (“Letters,” Sept. 22-28). One of the letter writers said “now is not the time” to criticize the U.K.’s reign of terror over the colonies. It’s a standard argument of the right wing; no one can call for gun control after a mass shooting. because it’s “not the time.”

When is it time to call out violence and cruelty? I think it is anytime that we become aware of it. Marilyn Ross | Carmel

Cannot wait to try it! All of my favorite things! (“There is no pretension at Lucy’s on Lighthouse – just wildly popular hot dogs, tater tots and milkshakes,” Sept. 15-21.) Thomas Smith | via social media

And they have the best mac ‘n cheese! Susan Stempson | via social media

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