Air Date: Week of September 22, 2006

We dip into the LOE mailbag to hear what listeners have to say.

Transcript

GELLERMAN: Time now to hear from you, our listeners.

[LETTERS THEME SONG]

GELLERMAN: Our recent story about the benefits of planting vegetation sky high on green roofs prompted several listeners to write in. Kenneth Myslik listens to Living on Earth on WNYC in New York. He likes the show, and says “the federal government should subsidize the greening of our cities.”

But Mary Krane Derr of Chicago was surprised we didn’t talk about green roofs as places to grow local food. It seems the Windy City’s City Hall is a prime example, according to Ms. Krane Derr. The green roof on that building attracts birds and has beehives that produce up to 150 pounds of honey each year. Sweet.

Our interview with Natural Resources Defense Council scientist Gina Solomon rubbed U.S. EPA press officer Dale Kemery the wrong way. We asked Dr. Solomon to compare EPA’s actions at Ground Zero to the way the agency handled contamination after Hurricane Katrina. Following our interview we aired a sound bite from Mr. Kemery on behalf of the EPA. But still he felt we had given him short shrift. So we asked him to comment again.

KEMERY: Likening 9/11 to like disaster that befell New Orleans is like comparing the ocean to the sky. The Environmental Protection Agency learned from the events of 9/11, how to cope with major disasters. EPA tested for hundreds of toxins, like lead, aspestos, and mold, and the results were analyzed both by the agency and in an independent laboratory. EPA’s inspector general’s office reported that EPA had done its job, and reported its findings in a timely manner.

Let us hear from you – once, even twice, if you like – give us a call on our listener line... The number is 800-218-9-9,8-8; that’s 800-218-ninety-nine eighty-eight. Or write us at 20 Holland Street, Somerville, Massachusetts 02144. Our e-mail address is comments at l o e dot org. That’s comments at L-0-E dot O-R-G And stop by our web page at Living on Earth dot org where you can hear us anytime. That's Living on Earth dot org.

Keep listening to Living on Earth.