{"id":8713573,"date":"2023-01-11T16:00:14","date_gmt":"2023-01-12T00:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.eastbaytimes.com\/?p=8713573&preview=true&preview_id=8713573"},"modified":"2023-01-12T04:00:27","modified_gmt":"2023-01-12T12:00:27","slug":"letters-1112","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.eastbaytimes.com\/2023\/01\/11\/letters-1112\/","title":{"rendered":"Letters: Make a difference | Ecology education | Big Tech | Hamlin conspiracy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Submit your letter to the editor via this form<\/a>. Read more Letters to the Editor<\/a>.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

In times of need,make a difference<\/h4>\n

It\u2019s been no secret that all prices have been skyrocketing: gas, electricity bills and groceries. Many are struggling to make ends meet during this arduous time, and the high prices on basic necessities \u2014 such as eggs and vegetables \u2014 aren\u2019t helping.<\/p>\n

This is why our student-run, non-profit organization decided to host a local food drive. We contacted a local pantry, found a location and spread the word in our community through flyers and social media. On the day of the food drive collection, we received a variety of donations, each one making a change.<\/p>\n

Beyond helping those in need, another primary purpose of this food drive was to inspire: We hope that more young teenagers can use their voices to make a change in our community. Some of us are more fortunate than others, and even with small changes, some donations, and a few food drives, we can help more than we think.<\/p>\n

Chloe Lou<\/strong>San Jose<\/em><\/p>\n

County picks up batonof ecology education<\/h4>\n

No education is complete without learning about ecology \u2014 all students should have access and exposure to it. That\u2019s why the Santa Clara County Board of Education has been at the forefront of holistic immersion in nature, climate science and other environmental issues.<\/p>\n

Building on its green legacy, the Board unanimously approved a resolution I requested supporting environmental literacy, sustainability education and climate action. We collaborated to launch the Climate Action Week Educator Guide to illuminate issues of greening school campuses.<\/p>\n

To build on the work of the county office’s environmental education Walden West school, our Growing Gardens project to support nature-based learning and our newly-formed Environmental Literacy Leadership Collaborative, the Office of Education partnered with the County Office of Sustainability and Our City Forest to plant trees across schools.<\/p>\n

We hosted our first Annual Environmental Literacy Summit to provide students, teachers, and administrators with a space to strengthen environmental literacy.<\/p>\n

Tara Sreekrishnan<\/strong>Trustee, Santa Clara County Board of Education<\/em>Cupertino<\/em><\/p>\n

Big Tech mustclean up its messes<\/h4>\n

Re. “Big Tech lost its way. How can it recover?<\/a>” Page A7, Jan. 6:<\/p>\n

Roger McNamee is correct in his op-ed \u201cBig tech has lost its way\u201d in asserting that \u201cfailing to regulate tech leads to catastrophic harm.\u201d But as his time frame starts only in 2000, he misses the harm done by the \u201cclean\u201d high-tech industry starting in the 1970s a) to the health of its workforce \u2013 predominantly women of child-bearing age \u2013 and their offspring and b) by the toxics discharged into our groundwater and air. These impacts spread rapidly as the industry expanded globally.<\/p>\n

With the return of semiconductors to the United States under the CHIPS Act<\/a>, significant, pro-active regulation of toxics use, protection of worker health and rigorous environmental stewardship are essential, yet the CHIPs Act has no such provisions.<\/p>\n

It is now up to policymakers and voters to push needed changes forward.<\/p>\n

Amanda Hawes<\/strong>San Jose<\/em><\/p>\n