Will Trump be brought down as markets plunge?

As I watch the continuation of the “Trump effect” pushing stock valuations in the toilet, I have come to the conclusion that I am one of those suckers and losers who took their retirement savings and invested them (“US stocks fall as Trump’s latest tariff threat offsets good news on the economy,” March 13).

As our portfolios crash and burn during this “detox period,” I have to wonder when and if our elected leaders (in both parties) will draft articles of impeachment for all the high crimes and misdemeanors, malfeasance and behavior unbecoming a president just to name a few of the potential charges.

How long does it take for normal people, regardless of who they might have voted for, to get it that we have a knucklehead-in-chief, along with his appointed buffoons and nincompoops who are recklessly destroying our country?

Somebody please step up!

— David Hash, Bowleys Quarters

Let’s hear more from fired federal workers

How about the big picture? Is it possible for The Baltimore Sun to give an explanation of what is positive in President Donald Trump’s decision to slash various federal agencies (“Maryland Democrats introduce bipartisan bill in Congress to help fired probationary workers,” March 11)?

I guess the point is to lower the national debt but in what way? I am retired and on a pension and would have hated to lose my city and then state job. I also do not get any sense of empathy or compassion from the Republicans or media about these job endings.

Those who hired these workers must have seen something positive? The press does not interview those fired. How do they feel?

— David Eberhardt, Baltimore

Waste incineration is not clean energy

In a recent commentary, Mary Urban, WIN Waste Innovation’s senior director of communications and community, states that “waste-to-energy facilities do not adversely impact human health” based on a 2021 waste-to-energy (WTE) report (“Attacks on Baltimore’s vital incinerator aren’t guided by facts,” March 6). Yet the report’s acknowledgements section mentions contributions from waste-to-energy companies WIN Waste and Reworld (formerly known as Covanta), raising the question of whether a conflict of interest was present in the development of the report.

Moreover, it only referenced one Maryland assessment from 2004 which measured the association between air pollution from the Covanta Montgomery County Resource Recovery Facility and human health risks by comparing data from 1989 (pre-facility operation) to 2003 (post-operation) with 1995 being the facility’s operational year.

The assessment concluded that facilities equipped with advanced air pollution control equipment pose “no significant health risk to the population.” However, this was only for non-carcinogenic health effects. Given the eight-year time period post exposure and the varying latency period for different cancers that develop as a result of exposure to incineration, this study may not reflect the true nature of risks to human health.

Moreover, the study primarily assessed toxic metal exposures and overlooked toxic ash byproducts, particulate matter and other greenhouse gas pollutants which are released from waste incineration.

Urban went on to say that “WIN Waste is not a ‘hazardous waste site’ or inflictor of ‘environmental racism’” but a New School report concluded that 79% of all U.S. waste incinerators are located in environmental justice communities. This confirms the recent study from Williams and others concluding that Baltimore, where the Wheelabrator incinerator is located, has the highest earth justice Score of 0.86 in Maryland.

Furthermore, a comprehensive systematic review drawing upon almost 100 peer-reviewed studies on the health effects associated with waste incineration demonstrated a positive relationship between exposure to waste incinerators and certain cancers.

The data is clear: Waste incineration is not clean energy and underserved and overburdened communities, specifically in Baltimore, are often bearing the brunt of exposure to waste incinerators given their physical proximity to these facilities.

— Iman Habib, Baltimore