Fossil fuel defenders at it again

Almost every point in Mark Sertoff’s letter last week, “Renewable energy and Europe” (Village Times Herald, Aug, 21), is either false, misleading, disingenuous or too vague to address. In any case, his arguments appear to be standard propaganda from the fossil fuel industry.

Point 7, which claims that climate change is a global scientificconspiracy, is plainly false. This point is crucial because no one would be advocating for alternative energy sources so urgently if the effects of climate change were not clear and devastating. Thirty years ago, questioning climate science might have been plausible; today, it is simply absurd. Anyone over the age of 45 has personally witnessed these changes. For example, summers in North America are now about two weeks longer than they were in 1980.

All the concerns raised about the ecological and social impacts of renewable energy industries are disingenuous. The current fossil fuel economy has caused far greater environmental damage over many decades.

Are we to believe that oil and gas executives and shareholders genuinely care about issues like child labor in the developing world, animal deaths or habitat destruction?

Why are ”fossil” and “nuclear” mentioned together repeatedly? Because nuclear energy does not contribute to climate change, and therefore it naturally aligns with wind and solar in these discussions. However, nuclear power is not intermittent. Nor is hydropower, which is conveniently omitted. These sources weaken the arguments that alternative energy cannot ensure a reliable energy supply, so they mustbe disassociated with alternatives.

Regarding other countries’ actions, China installed more solar capacity last year than the entire current capacity of the United States. Has China been duped by the so-called Green Dream or the liberal agenda?

The breathless panic over “shivering” and “pipes freezing” suggests that anyone is proposing a complete shift to wind and solar energy alone. No one is advocating this. All experts and policymakers support a hybrid, incremental transition that grows a profitable green energy economy while gradually reducing reliance on the most damaging fossil fuels.

As I have argued previously in these pages, if radical free-market fundamentalists — who believe everything should be left to unregulated business — disagree with collective action against global climate change, they should openly make that case. However, they must drop the pretenses and honestly admit that the rest of us will suffer heavy climate-related costs to maintain their corporate profits.

John Hover
East Setauket

Published August 28, 2025 in the Three Village Herald.
https://tbrnewsmedia.com/letters-to-the-editor-aug-28-2025/

in response to letter "Renewable Energy and Europe", August 21, 2025
https://tbrnewsmedia.com/letters-to-the-editor-august-21-2025/

No Kings protest is an important local story

In a recent letter (“Local community paper should cover community events,” June 25),  Rick Ceo criticized this newspaper for covering “left-leaning causes” like the No Kings protest, arguing that it should instead focus on what he considers more deserving topics, such as the Port Jefferson mayoral race.

In fact, the Port Times Record provided excellent coverage of the recent mayoral election, which is how I know that just 1,724 people voted. By contrast, the No Kings protest drew roughly twice that number of participants in Port Jefferson alone. Across Long Island, more than 35,000 people took part in a dozen related demonstrations, joining 4 to 6 million Americans at over 2,000 locations nationwide. Going by numbers alone, the protests were arguably more newsworthy than the election, not less so. Fortunately, this paper had the capacity and judgment to cover both stories well.

Mr. Ceo is, of course, entitled to his opinions. He is free to argue (however unconvincingly) that public health measures like mask mandates and quarantines amounted to tyranny, while anonymous federal agents abducting people for indefinite detention in foreign gulags without due process does not. What he is not entitled to do is urge a community newspaper to suppress coverage of a major local contribution to a national civic movement. That suggestion reflects an illegitimate, anti-democratic impulse—-precisely the kind that makes peaceful, patriotic protests, like those held on June 14, so important.

John Hover
East Setauket

Published July 3, 2025 in the Village Times Herald:

https://tbrnewsmedia.com/letters-to-the-editor-july-3-2025/

in response to letter  “Local community paper should cover community events,”  June 26:

https://tbrnewsmedia.com/letters-to-the-editor-june-26-2025/

SBU visa revocations demand official action, not platitudes

As a proud Stony Brook University alumnus (M.S. 2005), I was deeply troubled by the recent report detailing the revocation of student visas for 11 international students at SBU. No explanation or evidence has been provided to justify these revocations. This lack of transparency leaves us to assume that these revocations — along with the roughly 1,500 others reported at over 250 institutions nationwide — are either arbitrary or motivated by an unconstitutional intent to suppress free speech. (Visiting students are entitled to the same free speech protections as U.S. citizens.) While the federal government does have the authority to revoke visas, exercising that power arbitrarily constitutes a clear abuse of power.

Some may disregard the educational value of a diverse student body or the fact that smart international students elevate academic standards in the classroom. But even skeptics should recognize that international students pay higher tuition than domestic students, effectively subsidizing SBU’s operating budget. Considering that SBU, Brookhaven National Lab and Cold Spring Harbor Lab are leading Long Island employers with globally diverse workforces, even pragmatic business leaders should be concerned. A climate of fear could prompt many of the approximately 3,800 international students at SBU to transfer, and discourage future applicants altogether.

Vague affirmations by university officials are welcome, but appear toothless. SBU is a public institution of New York State. What actions will the state take to protect its residents and universities from federal overreach? Has the university president sought support from the governor, or the New York Civil Liberties Union? Will SBU provide legal representation to the students or join wider lawsuits to contest these revocations in federal court? If not, why? And if this situation escalates, will university police intervene to prevent warrantless ICE arrests, or will they stand aside as masked, unidentified agents in unmarked vans seize students on campus?

Blame for all this must be placed squarely on Rep. Nick LaLota (R-NY1) and his fellow House Republicans. As majority members of a co-equal branch of government, they have failed in their constitutional duty to perform oversight. Their role is to ensure the executive branch faithfully enforces laws enacted by Congress — not to stand idle as policy is dictated by executive fiat. While LaLota may disregard the voices of his Democratic constituents, perhaps his Republican supporters and donors can impress upon him the long-term consequences of his inaction.

John Hover
East Setauket

Published April 24, 2025 in the Village Times Herald:
https://tbrnewsmedia.com/letters-to-the-editor-april-24-2025/

in response to the article “SBU international students' visas revoked,” on April 11, 2025. 

https://tbrnewsmedia.com/sbu-international-students-visas-revoked/

An Opportunity to Build Trust

It was heartening to read Daniel Dunaief’s interview with the new Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina [“New Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina discusses highway, school safety,” March 9] discussing school and road safety, adoption of body cameras and the importance of recruiting new officers from underrepresented communities.

Of some concern, though, is the comment that Catalina and the Suffolk County Sheriff traveled to El Salvador to learn police recruitment ideas. Since 2019 El Salvador has become a single-party dictatorship that has suspended the rule of law, civil rights and human rights in order to suppress gang violence. And the current U.S. federal administration is paying El Salvador to imprison Venezuelan deportees without due process. Probably not the best place to learn about good policing.

Notably absent from the article was any query about whether the SCPD intends to continue spending taxpayer money to fight the 2022 Newsday/New York Civil Liberties Union lawsuit against them. In 2020, New York State repealed the 50-A law that allowed departments to keep police complaint and disciplinary records secret. Since 2020, Newsday and the NYCLU have filed 10 Freedom of Information Law requests to SCPD that have still not been satisfied, even after a lower court and an appellate panel ruled against them. This February, New York’s highest court issued a ruling on the same kind of case (against the Rochester PD) requiring full disclosure of all records, regardless of outcome or when the complaint was made. Why continue spending money on a legal fight they will certainly lose?

If Commissioner Catalina would genuinely like to turn the page, and build community trust through transparency, now would be a good time to simply comply with the law.

John Hover
East Setauket

Published March 27, 2025 in the Village Times Herald:
https://tbrnewsmedia.com/letters-to-the-editor-march-27-2025/

in response to editorial “New Suffolk County Police Commissioner Kevin Catalina discusses highway, school safety,” on March 9, 2025. 

https://tbrnewsmedia.com/new-suffolk-county-police-commissioner-kevin-catalina-discusses-highway-school-safety/

Not An Experiment

Stefanie Werner [“Three Village BOE’s costly sleep experiment,” TBR News Media, Nov. 14] is certainly entitled to her opinion that the benefits of moving to later high school start times are not worth the financial cost (less than 1% of the budget).

However, she is not entitled to dismiss the well-established evidence that even a modest delay in school start times leads to significant benefits for adolescent students. Research from dozens of studies has conclusively shown that later start times result in more sleep, improved attendance, higher grades and fewer car crashes. These findings are not a “fantasy belief.” They are supported by extensive scientific evidence. That is why the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends secondary schools start no earlier than 8:30 a.m. — a standard the new plan still falls short of by 50 minutes. It is also why states such as California and Florida have passed laws mandating later school start times for secondary students.

The Three Village BOE is not conducting an “experiment.” The experiments have already been done, and the results are clear. The only question is whether we are willing to act on this well-documented evidence.

John Hover
East Setauket

Published November 21, 2024 in the Village Times Herald: 

https://tbrnewsmedia.com/letters-to-the-editor-november-21-2024/

in response to letter ("Three Village BOE’s costly sleep experiment") on November 14, 2024

https://tbrnewsmedia.com/letters-to-the-editor-nov-14-2024/

Disingenuous projection

Jim Soviero’s letter “Local Dems put politics first” (TBR News Media, Aug. 15), accusing Democratic politicians of avoiding “substantive talk of policy,” is a classic example of disingenuous projection.

Projection because it is Republicans who are avoiding discussion of their policy plans, from a national abortion ban to mass deportations. The Republican Party didn’t even bother to draft a new platform in 2020, instead officially endorsing whatever then-President Donald Trump [R] advocated on any given day.

The current Republican platform is a vague, self-contradictory manifesto — long on rhetoric but very short on specific policy prescriptions. And Republican politicians can’t distance themselves quickly enough from Project 2025, the very specific federal overhaul playbook that will be implemented if Trump wins. Local U.S. Rep. Nick LaLota [R-NY1] claims to oppose a federal abortion ban, while having voted for multiple federal anti-abortion laws.

All this is unsurprising, given that Republican policy positions are incredibly unpopular. Significant majorities of Americans support reproductive rights, worker and union protections, stricter gun laws, marriage equality and higher taxes on corporations and the very wealthy. All are signature Democratic positions.

The Democratic Party, like all other mainstream political parties around the world, has a detailed written platform with numerous specific policy positions. For example, it supports a $15 per hour federal minimum wage, a 25% billionaire minimum tax rate and expanded Medicare drug negotiation authority, which has already resulted in a $35 per month cap on insulin and asthma inhalers. Mr. Soviero can consult that platform whenever he wants to understand what Democrats, both local and national, propose.

Most importantly, his accusation is disingenuous because this election is clearly not about specific policies. It is about fundamental questions of what government is for and what you think “The United States” should mean. Do you want a white, male, straight, single-party, Christian nationalist state run by a personality cult for the benefit of billionaires? Or do you want a secular, multiethnic, pluralist democracy under the rule of law?

There’s little point in debating detailed policies until we resolve that.

John Hover
East Setauket

Published August 29, 2024 in the Village Times Herald 

https://tbrnewsmedia.com/letters-to-the-editor-august-29-2024/

in response to letter on August 15, 2024 

https://tbrnewsmedia.com/letters-to-the-editor-august-15-2024/

Democratic Party Platform: 

https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/2024-democratic-party-platform

https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/sites/default/files/documents_with_attached_files/373813/165904.pdf

Republican 2024 Party Platform:
https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/2024-republican-party-platform

Project 2025:

https://static.project2025.org/2025_MandateForLeadership_FULL.pdf

Gratitude not complaints

Jen Schaedel’s long, angry letter (“Unjustified dismantlement of West Meadow Beach cottages,” (TBR News Media, Aug. 1) is a classic case of the aphorism, “When you’re used to privilege, equality feels unjust.”

Whether the nearly-free early-1900s waterfront property leases were favors for the politically connected, or just gross municipal malpractice, giving away perpetually renewable rights to valuable public property for private use was always a violation of basic American principles.

Good-faith debates could be had over the proper fate of the buildings. But, the idea that leaseholders deserved to renew the leases forever was always morally indefensible, regardless of how wholesome the community was. So it is shocking to see anyone still defend it, let alone portray themselves as victims.

Rather than complain about public officials reclaiming public property for public use, all the people lucky enough to have been associated with the cottage community over the years should, instead, be quietly grateful for the decades of cheap, exclusive use of land they didn’t own.

John Hover
East Setauket

Published August 8, 2024 in the Village Times Herald 

https://tbrnewsmedia.com/letters-to-the-editor-august-8-2024/

in response to letter on August 1, 2024 

https://tbrnewsmedia.com/letters-to-the-editor-august-1-2024/