As a German citizen who spent her first 29 years of life in the heavy industrial part of Germany and the next 29 years in California and Oregon, I felt deeply disturbed by Robert Perry’s June 16 In My View letter.

I remember my hometown — Hilden, near Dusseldorf — as a “gray on gray” place. Trees, sky, houses, people just gray, due to all the filth from the coal mines and heavy industries nearby.

Today, the trees are lush green, sky is blue, and in the night, you can see stars; main street is a pedestrian zone, and bikes are everywhere. I am amazed at the change every time I visit (biannually).

Perry’s letter misrepresented numerous points, or they are not up-to-date.

Berlin’s huge power plant used its last piece of coal in May of this year. Future fuel is natural gas. By the way, the last coal mines in Germany are closing in 2018.

Nuclear power plant closings were due to risk evaluation. The danger of any kind of accident was too high in this densely populated country and Chernobyl still brings the fear of a nuclear cloud to everybody’s mind. But also, what to do with the nuclear waste? Nobody seems to find a permanent solution for that, so why add more?

Yes, Perry states correctly that about 300,000 households have their electricity turned off annually (overdue bill is over 120 Euro/$135).

Germany has 41 million households. That means the shut-off rate is well under 1 percent (0.73 percent). I assume the shut-off rate is higher in the United States.

Yes, Germans pay much more for electricity, and over one-half of the bill is for taxes to build new infrastructure aggressively.

But, Germans use much less, too. Per person kilowatt-hour use is 13,000 in the U.S. and 7,000 in Germany. Oil is 6,900 kg in the U.S./3,900 kg in Germany. Natural gas is 2,163 cubic meter in the U.S./928 in Germany and so on. Germans, basically all Europeans, are much more conscious of the environment, their footprint and, in my opinion, generally try to be better stewards of the Earth’s resources. Often, I have the impression, many Americans feel like they have “God-given rights” to use as many resources as they please, at the lowest cost possible, without any fallouts or responsibilities.

Sometimes, it just seems easier to stick with the old and not deal with the new and the future. Taking steps about the future means in Europe thinking about the next 50 to 100 years and more. Here, it appears to be tomorrow or maybe the next 
political cycle.

Perry refers to the political group “Berlin Circle.” This group consists of five white, middle-age men from the right wing of the conservative party (Merkel’s party). I rest my case.

Will there be a struggle to fulfill all the energy needs of Germany? Of course.

A quote from 1857 from Frederick Douglass, “If there is no struggle, there is no progress.”

I am very proud of my country’s achievement regarding environment and energy supply, and I am certain they will work on progressing toward their goals in the future and make Germany a better place for their citizens.

I believe Trump’s decision to pull out of the Paris climate accord was ill-advised. Not only did the United States abandoned their leader position at the table, but they kicked themselves out of the room and away from the rest of the world.

— Petra Kellers lives 
in Crooked River Ranch.

Germans, basically all Europeans, are much more conscious of the environment, their footprint and, in my opinion, generally try to be better stewards of the Earth’s resources. Often, I have the impression, many Americans feel like they have “God-given rights” to use as many resources as they please, at the lowest cost possible, without any fallouts or responsibilities.