I'm against this power plant being where it's proposed to be. I'm a 10-year veteran in the Environmental, Health and Safety field and a Registered Environmental Assessor by Cal-EPA. However, I don't profess to be the authority voice on this issue to approach my discussion. I'd rather appeal to the City of San Jose to look at logic and reason to disapprove this plan, and my fellow neighbors to do our civic duties to stand up for what's best for our community.

1. This location benefits Calpine for its convenience and sheer dollars and cents gained, no one else. Yes, our community has grown and needed more power. But this plan is not the best answer to that need.

2. Let's never forget that this is a valley. Pollution will be trapped and not get turned over fast enough. It's going to turn nice residential neighborhoods into low-income low maintenance areas. The Pomona valley in Southern California is a living testament of this type of short-term thinking that Calpine and its dollars seem to have blinded City of San Jose officials to even consider the idea.

3. A power plant is a power plant. Pollution is pollution. Newer ones are more efficient supposedly. But efficiency is an operational rate or percentage which has to do with how much money the Calpine makes to run the plant per hour, and little to do with the net quantity of pollution emitted and eventually trapped in our neighborhood. This is because of a simple multiplication equation: Input x Efficiency = Output (where Input is fuel and Output is power plus pollution). Unless "Input" is a fixed number, we don't have any control over "Output". Folks, let's not allow the deep pocketed power company officials and their paid politicians pull a fast one on us.

4. There is no argument that a power plant has to be at some place near someone's neighborhood. The argument here is how near and how well can Mother Nature help take care of us by getting rid of the pollution naturally? City Officials who approve this plan and anyone in favor of this plan must have their heads stuck in places they don't belong to not recognize that 2-mile radius is Never acceptable Anywhere. Secondly, for them to not recognize that Mother Nature does not intend to turn over air in valleys fast and often for a reason. No matter how technologically we think we are, whenever we work against nature blindly like we are with this insidious Metcalf power plant idea, we're doomed to fail miserably. Let's not force ourselves to doom. Do it right or don't do it at all. There are better and safer alternatives. If I were not living in a valley setting, and a power plant is sensibly located at a safe distance from my home warranted at least scientifically by an independant Health Risk Assessment, I will not oppose to a plan like this. Is it not fair???

5. Try WWW.SOLARDEPOT.COM and get some ideas. Try wind power like what we can see on the hills along the freeway out to Tracy. Try to be more efficient with our electricity usage. We can't just continue to combat heat and hot air trapped in the valley by using more electricity to air-condition ourselves which necessitate more fuel burning and more pollution to kill ourselves. Mother Nature will do that to us as a self-destruct mechanism to achieve her intended balance. Let's wake up folks and get on our City Officials to wake up.

6. Others have brought up the Fairchild experience. I worked with a person who played a key role in the Facilities Department of Fairchild which knew what went on. Dollars and cents always ruled, folks. Neighborhoods' well-being and sustainability don't factor much in business decisions. Let's wake up folks and get on our City Officials to wake up.

7. For my part, I pledge to bring this issue up to the Air Resources Board, Environmental Protection Agency and Bay Area Air Quality Management District. We possibly are going to fight a dog-fight to defeat this Metcalf power plant idea. But with everyone's help, no matter how little or great, we'll have a better shot of success. Work the City Officials, we voted them there and have paid their salaries. Get them to work for us or vote them out. Do it now folks. You owe it to yourselves.