One concern crosses all cultures: clean air
Recently a good number of citizens from Cupertino gathered for the Town Hall Meeting on Nov. 20 to discuss multicultural diversity and community safety issues. What a great opportunity for the participants to see and hear the focus groups' ideas for improving the recognition of the community's ethnic richness.
One of the most interesting moments of the evening came when a woman expressed her concerns over the attempt of Kaiser Cement to pursue the use of tires as a source of fuel. She outlined the efforts of the West Valley Citizens Air Watch to inform the residents of Cupertino of the increased hazards with the use of tire derived fuel. She had barely sat down, when before the next speaker could be recognized, Mr. Earl Bouse from Kaiser was on his feet and attempted to speak to the people present. He had not been recognized by the moderator, and just watching him leap from his seat gave me whiplash. This issue of Kaiser's attempt to use tires as a source of fuel is an excellent example of a way residents can work together to see the worst polluter in the Santa Clara Valley stopped. No matter what our ethnic background, we all breath air, we all want a good environment, and we all deserve a say in what risks industry are trying to impose on us.
Marylin McCarthy
Cupertino
This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, December 25, 1996.
©1996 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.