Jun 29, 2008

Letters to the Editor

Daily News

Palo Alto Chamber

Dear Editor: I read with interest your article about Tommy Fehrenbach, the new Palo Alto Chamber of Commerce president. In response, I wrote a message of congratulations to Mr. Fehrenbach and urged him to put as much effort as he possibly can in supporting and encouraging Palo Alto business environmental sustainability initiatives that are or can be taken on by the chamber and within the Palo Alto business community at large.

As a member of both the Palo Alto Community Environmental Action Partnership (CEAP) and the Mountain View Environmental Sustainability Task Force green business subgroup, I'm very interested in seeing our local chambers of commerce and other such groups actively promoting sustainability in all of its aspects with regard to businesses in the region. I'm greatly encouraged by the efforts of the several business owners I've spoken with and with the work being taken on through Palo Alto Business Goes Green.

At the same time, the Santa Clara County Green Business Program is severely understaffed and overworked, so any assistance and resources that are provided by the community can help to ease their workload and to keep all related processes moving (note that business owners can become discouraged if they apply for green business certification and encounter a long waiting period to become certified).

I certainly look forward to seeing continuing progress on the environmental front under Mr. Fehrenbach's leadership.

Bruce England,

Mountain View



Mideast conflict

Dear Editor: We are at war with nations in the Middle East that control a good percentage of the world's oil, and the price will keep rising as long as we don't change our habits. The Bush administration is doing everything possible to make the situation worse, stopping all new solar projects on federal land. It claims to want to do an environmental impact report on solar projects' impact on deserts, but since when did Bush and Cheney give a hang about the environment?

We already know the impact of offshore drilling and they don't seem to worry about that. We are in an energy crisis now because of the war and they want to stop one of the clean energy sources that will help bring down the price of oil by decreasing demand. The longer they keep America using oil the weaker our economy gets. Isn't that what the terrorists want too? What's wrong with this picture? Why are Bush and Cheney helping the terrorists' cause? Whose side are they on? They are either with us or against us.

Jan Krieg,

Palo Alto



Dear Editor: Rockets were fired from Gaza at civilians in Israel this week after a truce. Luckily they didn't hit anyone. Why does the firing of multiple rockets by a group that just made a truce merely "strain" the truce? According to the Associated Press, that's all it did.

If someone was killed or injured by the rockets, would that "violate" the truce? Or would it just "strain" the truce a little more? What if the casualty was an AP reporter? Would that make it worse?

It shows you how easy it is for journalists to manipulate events in line with their bias by choosing their words. No wonder they say you can't believe what you read in the papers.

Desmond Tuck,

San Mateo



David Brooks

Dear Editor: David Brooks' faith in the surge (see the June 25 edition of the Daily News) reminds me of his belief at one time that the insurgence would cause no more than a speed bump on the road to democratization. A decrease in the violence to by far what is still an unacceptable level, with none of the other targets of the surge being met, is hardly a success.

We are viewed by the overwhelming majority of Iraqis as loathsome occupiers. Furthermore, our stated goal - creating a true democracy in Iraq - is a myth, since it is well known that such a government would form an axis with Iran. We will continue to waste lives and money on a lost cause until both parties are willing to admit defeat in what was an unnecessary war.

Nick Jaffe,

Sunnyvale