After reading the text, it was frustrating to read so many negative situations in which people are being mistreated and taken advantage of by big businesses and government bureaucracy. In cases where the environment is being damaged and polluted, our citizens’ safety is being ignored. In the case of PG&E and their hazardous dumping, it not only polluted the environment, it made people gravely ill and killed many others. Once again when it comes to government agencies, when there is an issue, there are numerous loop holes, and confusing paperwork that typical people are unprepared to deal with. Hiring lawyers is often impossible(too expensive) for many people to try to combat an environmental issue that they need to address. Even King spoke about his frustration to help people in need, but that he needs to get paid too.
I thought the Rosas family was rather amazing, since they came up with two solutions that would limit or stop the blasting of canyon walls, and there would be no need to use bridges and embankments. They suggested running the second track along the same lines as the original track to reduce environmental impact. They also hired a civil engineer, Dr. Kamran Nemati who suggested putting the train lines underground and using a tunnel. This would make the route safer because it would be a straighter route. Also, by using a tunnel the train wouldn’t have to deal with issues like rockslides, or animals wandering on the tracks. However, how were the Rosas rewarded for their efforts, not at all. The BNSF’s engineer Robert Boileau, said the tunnels were too expensive and impractical. Basically they told the Rosas IDK…
There sure were a lot of acronyms in that book. Since several of you posted some acronyms from previous jobs, here are some educational ones. ELL English Language Learner, ED Emotionally Disturbed, EDSPED Special Education, SLC Small Learning Communities, IEP Individualized Education Plan.