BUSINESSES HARMED BY BRIDGE CLOSURE
I’m responding to the article about the stresses that our Seabright businesses are enduring because of the Murray St. bridge construction. Come on, City of Santa Cruz government, step up and help these valuable parts of our community. Throw some money their way to stay afloat. And come on, people of Santa Cruz. These businesses aren’t impossible to get to. There are three ways to get there without going over the bridge. We are about to lose some special businesses if we all don’t step up.
Sheryl Loomis | Santa Cruz
ZERO EMISSIONS OR NOT?
This letter is a formal demand that RTC immediately cease describing hydrogen fuel as “zero-emission” or “emission free,” unless you can provide verifiable scientific data proving otherwise.
Your current messaging is misleading to the public. While hydrogen fuel cells emit only water at the point of use, the overwhelming majority of hydrogen available in California today is produced by steam methane reforming (SMR) or electrolysis powered by fossil fuels. Both methods carry significant upstream emissions.
Our analysis, based on DOE and CARB data, shows:
● Over 95% of hydrogen produced in the U.S. is derived from natural gas (SMR).
● The carbon intensity of SMR hydrogen is 9–12 kg CO₂ per kg H₂.
● Operating a hydrogen train on SMR hydrogen results in more emissions than running a modern diesel-electric train.
Beyond production, RTC has not disclosed the logistics emissions tied to hydrogen delivery. Hydrogen must be trucked in from facilities such as Martinez—a 160-mile round trip. Each Class 8 diesel truck emits ~1,800 g CO₂ per mile, or over 300 kg CO₂ per trip.
Even in the most modest scenario (one train per day), hydrogen transport alone adds nearly 2 metric tons of CO₂ per month before the first passenger boards. This is incompatible with any honest claim of “zero emission.”
We demand truth. Any public claim must match the science and math. Until then, hydrogen rail cannot be presented as “zero emission.”
Damon Meyer | Santa Cruz County
CIVIC SLIDE?
In the right light you can see that the Santa Cruz Civic Auditorium is not actually an auditorium at all but a statue of FDR. You can refurbish that statue or rebuild it (at which point it would no longer be a statue, at least not of FDR), and they will rebuild the arena and you will have two auditoriums, both of which will remain empty for half the year. But if you can bear to demolish the statue you could have one (modern up to date) arena/auditorium, which would be full all year, an empty space where the statue used to be, ready to have a better use built upon it, and with the money you save you can build an amphitheater (as in outdoor) somewhere in town. The quarry may be suitable for Primus but I think many people would agree that this town could use an actual amphitheater.
Eric M. Ott | Santa Cruz
