Air Date: Week of March 26, 2010

Living on Earth dips into the mail bag to hear what listeners have to say.

Transcript

YOUNG: It’s Living on Earth, I’m Jeff Young.

[LISTENER LETTERS THEME]

YOUNG: Time now, to hear from you.

[LISTENER LETTERS THEME]

YOUNG: Our interview on possible warning labels on cell phones had some listeners calling us onto the carpet. Michael Lengsfield of Southburgh in the United Kingdom writes [you] “allowed Dr. Carpenter to quote anonymous studies without question, never asking about the size and methodology. What’s more, your host failed to mention the many studies that fail to substantiate any associations between cell phone use and disease.”

Mike Simmons of Aspen, Colorado, agrees. “Most of what David Carpenter says is directly contradicted by information on the National Cancer Institute’s website,” writes Mr. Simmons. “The NCI is careful…. to cite evidence on both sides of this supposed issue. The great preponderance of the evidence finds no link.”

We received some kudos on our recent segment on film director Frank Capra’s films on solar energy and climate change. But biologist Andrew Mack thinks we missed the point by saying Frank Capra’s 1958 film “The Unchained Goddess” was prescient. He writes “Capra was only ahead of our current awareness because there was so much denial and avoidance for decades. Rather than celebrate Capra as a visionary, we should see this as a lesson about the cost of willfully ignoring the warnings of science and common sense.”

Larry Essman of Seattle weighed in on our bamboo bike story. He said the segment was fun but asked how was it possible for the bikes to weigh just four – six pounds? And yes, we goofed. The bamboo frame weighs 4-6 pounds but the entire bike, wheels and other components (bells and whistles) included, averages 17- 22 pounds.

[SNEAK IN LISTENER LETTERS THEME]

YOUNG: Now, if you feel bamboozled or just have pedestrian comments about our program, let us know. You can reach us at comments @ l-o-e dot org. Once again, comments @ l-o-e dot o-r-g. Our postal address is 20 Holland Street, Somerville Massachusetts, 0-2-1-4-4. And you can call our listener line, at 800-218-99-88. That's 800-218-9-9-8-8.

[END LISTENER LETTERS THEME]