Saving water and panic over Epstein files

Save water this way instead of pipeline

Education and pricing should be used to lower demand for water on the North Fork, not construction of an expensive water pipeline [“North Fork pipeline sparks debate over usage, development,” News, July 14].

When I walk my dog, I see why the Suffolk County Water Authority says that 70% of fresh water in Southold irrigates lawns. Many of my neighbors’ sprinklers run every day, even if it’s raining.

For a tiny fraction of what a new pipeline would cost, the authority could engage in an educational campaign to explain that you can have a green lawn by watering only once or twice a week. The authority should offer free or low-cost rain gauges to all customers, again much cheaper than a pipeline.

But for those who won’t care enough to conserve, initiate tiered pricing: The more water you use, the more you pay per cubic foot. Keep the cost low for reasonable use, but make people pay for wasting precious water.

An educational campaign and tiered pricing would be a great idea for all of Long Island. And yes, conservation works. Los Angeles, for example, now uses more than 40% less water than it did 35 years ago, while the population has increased tremendously.

— Frances Cerra Whittelsey, Huntington

The writer is climate justice chair of the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Huntington.

Panic over Epstein files is quite telling

The Trump administration’s panic over the Jeffrey Epstein files tells us it might have something to hide [“House ends session early amid Epstein vote clash,” News, July 23]. After years of denouncing “groomers” supposedly protected by Democrats, do President Donald Trump’s actions indicate he may have been involved in that kind of activity?

Trump’s response has been to accuse his own MAGA followers of being “radical left lunatics,” and “stupid.” And they thought that the “libs” were the only ones who supposedly looked down on them.

— Richard Morrock, Coram