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San Francisco Chronicle​

Letters: S.F. school garden's elimination is one of Trump's small cuts, but it has a big impact

Staff members at Marshall Elementary School in San Francisco learned this weekend that our gardening program is now canceled, thanks to drastic reductions to the AmeriCorps program by the Trump administration's Department of Government Efficiency. Given the many current outrages, this cut may seem trivial. Eliminating an outdoor education program can't compare with the abduction of undocumented workers without due process or with government officials openly flouting court orders. But for urban children growing up without backyards, garden time provides more than a breath of fresh air. It's a chance for students to perform scientific experiments — recording the interactions between plants and animals helps them develop healthy food preferences. Children love the taste of carrots they've grown themselves. Americorps' modestly compensated staff helped communities recover from disasters. And, yes, some of them teach our children about the magic of seeds and the importance of earthworms. Please contact your representatives. Demand a return to our fundamental constitutional protections. Also, insist on restoring funding to programs that employ Americans and make our lives better — programs like the school lunches and AmeriCorps. Judy Viertel, San Francisco Support worker safety International Workers' Day on May 1 marks one month since Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced a more than 90% cut to the workforce of the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety, which is credited with saving lives and protecting millions of workers. The agency's work spans sectors from agriculture to manufacturing, mining, public service, health care and construction, with a budget of $338 million, or about $2 per U.S. worker. So, was the decision to end it a mistake? Just ask the 62-year-old California firefighter, a healthy, athletic father of two, who woke up one morning unable to catch his breath or soon, climb a flight of stairs. It turns out he had a respiratory disease from inhaling chemicals on the job. This man's doctor had received specialized training funded by the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety through UC Berkeley's Center for Occupational and Environmental Health, which teaches health professionals how to prevent and manage work-related injuries and illnesses. As wildfires invade local neighborhoods, more and younger firefighters are getting sick. The time to fight for the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety, and workers' health is now. Meredith Minkler, professor emerita, UC Berkeley School of Public Health Secession a bad idea Regarding 'Secession movement works' (Letters to the Editor, April 29): The new secessionists of California should think carefully about our country's two previous secession attempts before they disgrace themselves any further. After all, the question was decided in 1865 at the courthouse in Appomattox, Va., where Confederate General Robert E. Lee signed surrender papers after the final battle of the Civil War. The Hartford Convention secessionists of 1814 were deemed unpatriotic and doomed their political party to extinction. They are barely remembered today. The Southern secessionists of 1860 are recalled with such opprobrium that Californians (and others throughout the United States) continue, even now, 160 years later, to remove their leaders' names from schools and cities and to deface or remove their statues. Our imperfect country needs love and attention. Let us not abandon her in this time of need. Stephen St Marie, San Francisco Clean air important, too Regarding 'Politicians tout a 'just transition' to green jobs. For Benicia refinery workers, 'that's a farce' ' (Joe Garofoli, April 27): I spent four years in college, two years in graduate school, and two years under supervision and taking exams to get my clinical license. In my entire working life, I could never have expected to make anywhere near $200,000 a year that crane operators at Valero make. I'm sorry that Valero crane operators like Mark Felsoci may lose their jobs if the refinery closes. However, the Valero refinery 'spewed illegal amounts of cancer-causing gases and chemicals into the air.' That's my air, too. Yes, a new job probably won't pay former Valero workers as much, but our environment will be cleaner, and that will benefit the entire Bay Area.