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The letter from Cody Carbone in support of crypto mining gave me a strong sense of outrage at his ability to twist reality in his favor ("Cryptomining bolsters New York's grid reliability," Feb 3). He says that crypto mining enhances grid reliability by flexible demand. Put another way, it steals our hard-earned electrical energy but only when demand is not at its peak.

Then he goes on with a carbon-neutral claim for crypto mining. It only takes a moment of thought to see that green energy used for crypto mining is not available for other uses. Those other uses then fall back on other energy sources that put more greenhouse gases in the atmosphere and accelerate climate change.

The saddest part is that Bitcoin is a double fallacy. First, the only real needs for crypto are speculation and money laundering. And second, if we did need crypto, there are other types that aren’t “proof of work” like Bitcoin and use far less energy.

I strongly object when people with a personal agenda attempt to twist the facts so that we will accept the harm they are doing to our society and our climate.

The writer is a retired electrical engineer.

Published Feb. 24, 2025

I read with interest the article about Abolitionist Frederick Douglass’ 1849 speech in Saratoga ("Abolitionist Douglass lectured in Saratoga in 1849," Feb. 11).

I was surprised to learn that some local Quakers supported President Zachary Taylor, who owned slaves. The article notes that Douglass returned to the Saratoga area to speak again in April 1870. He must have been on a speaking tour because there are also records that indicate that he spoke at Diefendorf Hall in the Mohawk Valley village of Fort Plain in March of that year.

On that occasion, according to an article in the Mohawk Valley Register, the topic of his talk was “Our Composite Nation,” in which he made a plea for justice for all classes. His speech also touched on women’s suffrage. These are all topics that resonate with us in our day and age as well.

Fort Plain, 50 miles west of Albany, was an important stop along the Erie Canal in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Today, a local non-profit is working to restore Diefendorf Hall to establish a gathering place for heritage tourism. Elizabeth Cady Stanton and Susan B. Anthony were other famous people who spoke there.

Published Feb. 24, 2025

On behalf of the Empire State Association of Assisted Living’s more than 365 licensed adult care/assisted living provider members, I couldn’t agree more with Kenneth E. Raske’s commentary that Consumer-Directed Personal Assistance Program changes are necessary to get costs under control so that limited Medicaid funds are made more available for other health/long term care providers ("CDPAP changes are necessary to get costs under control," Feb. 7).

New York State’s Medicaid Assisted Living Program is the perfect example of a Medicaid-saving option that allows nursing home-eligible seniors to age in place in the more community-based, home-like assisted living setting at less than half the cost that Medicaid would pay for that same person in the more institutional nursing home. Yet the Medicaid rates are still based in a year from the previous century with only minor rate increases over the course of the last 25 years, forcing some such providers to close. Often then, the senior’s only option is to move into the more costly nursing home even though they could still be supported in the Assisted Living Program, were the Medicaid resources there to support their care.

New York cannot afford to keep ignoring this crisis. Assisted Living Program capacity should be at least 10 times higher than it is today. Instead of........

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