Readers React: Fracking, farming and California’s drought

To the editor: Of course it’s not our style to tell farmers what to grow. Equally problematic is any attempt to ration water. The only sensible way to cut use is by cost, with an increasing dollar per gallon for exceeding some baseline. Farmers are businessmen and will plant what is most profitable. (“Why do farmers get a free pass from Brown?,” April 5)

Perfect? No; we’ll hear that the rich aren’t sensitive to water costs. Maybe, but allocation by price is easily and immediately implementable.

David Wilczynski, Manhattan Beach

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To the editor: A better column for George Skelton to write would be, “Why does fracking get a pass from Brown?” Fracking seems to have been ignored despite the fact that it uses immense amounts of water, leads to groundwater contamination and possibly increases the risk of earthquakes.

Democrats missed an opportunity in the 2014 election. They could have voted for Brown and still sent a message that they opposed fracking simply by voting for treasurer candidate Ellen Brown, who opposed fracking.

Gene Rothman, Culver City

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