Family ‘grateful’

for love, support

Editor, OBSERVER

The family of Carson Senfield would like to thank the communities of Dunkirk and Fredonia for the overwhelming outpouring of love and support during this most difficult time.

We are forever grateful for every one of your messages of support and acts of kindness. The generosity of this community has been amazing, and we are so fortunate to have friends and neighbors like you in our lives.

Carson made an incredible impact in his lifetime; he had a unique love for life and shared that love with everyone he met. His bright light, contagious smile, and love for his friends and family will forever remain in our hearts. A memorial foundation, “IMPACT”, has been set up in his memory with the goal of supporting students through scholarship opportunities and helping them be a positive force for change in the world as Carson was.

We know we could never convey in its entirety the breadth of our gratitude, but as actions speak louder than words, we’re committed to honoring Carson’s legacy through the IMPACT foundation and continuing to spread his love and positivity for years to come.

DAREN and BRIDGET SENFIELD,

Orchard Park

There’s reliability

with renewables

Editor, OBSERVER:

Thank you to the Dunkirk OBSERVER for offering readers a comprehensive view of New York state’s decarbonization goals. Getting to zero emissions is the most significant challenge facing the state, the country, and the world. New York’s Climate Action Council’s scoping plan must get this right.

Unfortunately, impeding progress is the goal of Lee Zeldin, candidate for governor, who wants to reverse the state’s fracking ban and eliminate the state’s climate law, the CLCPA. In addition, Claudia Tenney, New York’s 24th district candidate, has introduced the American Energy is Global Security Act, which would withhold federal funds from the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Block Grant program administered by the Department of Energy for any state with a statewide fracking ban in place. These candidates seem oblivious to the growing devastation caused by climate change, which is a direct result of fossil-fuel dependence, oblivious to the market forces increasing the costs of natural gas, and oblivious to the 66% to 80% of Americans who support fossil-fuel-free energy policies (Nature Communications, https://rdcu.be/cVdiV).

Facts and ideology don’t mix for these politicians or for the gas industry, which pushes phony claims about the affordability and reliability of renewables. But it is gas that is becoming unaffordable, with a predicted rise of 39% this winter. As to reliability, updates to the grid and battery storage improvements will solve any existing problems.

It is time to stop building yet more gas infrastructure and to reject candidates who promote fracking. New Yorkers who want effective climate change policies must urge Gov. Kathy Hochul to make a campaign promise to fully fund the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act and to ensure that the Climate Council’s final scoping plan calls for the end to gas reliance in New York.

M. JANE WAGNER,

Fredonia