Publication Date: Wednesday, May 05, 2004
Letters
Letters
(May 05, 2004)
Fiber and traffic
Editor,
A letter about the fiber plan from Pat Marriott and a Guest Opinion on traffic calming by Eric Doyle were side by side in the April 28 Weekly. Ms. Marriott seeks exciting future services from fiber and Mr. Doyle seeks a calmer way to calm traffic.
The proposed city fiber utility can help meet both goals.
Our largest employer, Hewlett-Packard, says, "employees are encouraged to use teleconferencing instead of travel whenever possible. HP has programs that (reduce air pollutants and save money): 1) Alternative Commute, 2) Mobile Office, and 3) Telework.
"The Telework program alone saved two million round-trip commutes (in 2002), avoiding approximately 52 million miles of road travel and reducing CO2 emissions by 6,000 MTCE."
City Fiber can deliver savings, the convenience of telecommuting, and cleaner air to all community citizens and employers. Thanks to HP for these ideas. For details: www.hp.com/hpinfo/globalcitizenship/environment/operations/travel.html.
Bob Harrington
Fulton Street
Palo Alto
Statistics over concerns?
Editor,
I did not understand PTA President Kate Hill's comment, "If your child says to you, 'I can't go to the dance because everyone who goes to the dance is drunk,' you can say, 'Actually the statistics don't bear that out. Go to the dance and have a good time.'"
She would listen to the "statistics" over the concerns of her child? What is so important and virtuous about a dance that you would want to encourage your child to go in spite of his or her legitimate and mature apprehension to put him or herself in a negative social environment?
April Pekary
Cypress Street
East Palo Alto
Wrongful killing
Editor,
Killing the (eucalyptus) tree was the wrong thing to do, absolutely.
These people call themselves stewards of the land but their action reveals them as fanatic zealots (of whom we have too many running around already). Have they forgotten that the land has spirit? Do they think they are God?
The City of Palo Alto should look carefully as to whom they entrust with stewardship.
The Palo Alto Weekly editorial (April 28) was formidable and says it all (and less angry than I am now).
Andrea Lenox
E. Meadow Drive
Palo Alto
Rude houseguests
Editor,
I support removal of eucalyptus not just in, but also near, Palo Alto wildlands. Having been "invited" by the Stanfords in the late 1800s, these voracious invasives have, like rude houseguests, overstayed their welcome.
One nearby place where those unfamiliar with the issue can easily see the impact of eucalyptus on the local oak woodland is at Wunderlich Park in Woodside. Park your car, get out and walk the easy Alambique Trail toward La Honda Road to see how oak, madrone, redwood and other natives are being overtaken.
It's heartbreaking.
As for the tree in question at Arastradero Preserve, I say good riddance.
Mike Alexander
La Para Avenue
Palo Alto
Breathe...
Editor,
So 150 to 250 beautiful living trees in a nature preserve are destroyed because they are invasive and non-native?
Breathe, breathe, breathe.
There, I am feeling calmer.
There are many things that are invasive and non-native in Palo Alto. Acterra appears to be one. Perhaps Palo Alto should consider a more rational steward for the Arastradero Preserve?
Ken Krechmer
Greer Road
Palo Alto
Future targets?
Editor,
How sad the Acterra environmental group girdled a 50-year-old eucalyptus tree in the Arastradero Preserve. Acterra makes a mockery of the term "preserve."
A chainsaw was used to cut wedges in the 10-foot-diameter trunk of this 100-foot-tall tree -- lovely. And this was done simply because it is a non-native species.
Surely Palo Alto must have many other non-native species. Will they too become targets of this environmental group? And so this beautiful tree will die, but at least it will die with dignity.
Gail Barklow
Page Mill Road
Palo Alto
Bringing out the worst
Editor,
In a news article released on the CBS Web site on April 29, Gary Myers, the attorney defending one of the GIs being charged, was quoted to have said, "The elixir of power, the elixir of believing that you're helping the CIA, for God's sake, when you're from a small town in Virginia, that's intoxicating ... and so, good guys sometimes do things believing that they are being of assistance and helping a just cause ... and helping people they view as important."
Isn't it time we realize that it is the same justification for the terrorists attacking innocent civilians for their own just cause, and also the same justification for the thousands of insurgents who are desperately resisting the U.S. occupation?
Military conflicts always bring out the worst of the human nature. By insisting on taking out Saddam Hussein regardless of the costs (in terms of human lives, Iraqi and American, among other things), we are also forcing "good guys" to do evil things "believing that they are being of assistance and helping a just cause."
Since the war started, we've lost 736 soldiers and the death toll on the Iraqi side has to be in the tens of thousands. We are calling the Americans heroes, but can we say all the Iraqi casualties deserve their deaths?
Laura Chiu
Talisman Court
Palo Alto
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