Air Date: Week of April 20, 2001

Transcript

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CURWOOD: Time now for comments from you, our listeners.

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CURWOOD: Meg Hunt heard our feature on Solar Sam, the man who invents unusual uses for solar power. Ms. Hunt listens to us on KCHU out of
Valdez, Alaska, and she says our report misrepresented the current state of solar technology. "The sun doesn't just run a few toy roosters and other trinkets," she writes. "While I applaud the gentleman who has made a hobby of such things, your story made it sound as though that's as far as it goes. I live on solar power. This computer, the phone line through which my e-mail goes, the ratio, lights, and, yes, the blender, the freezer, and the table saw all run on the sun. And in 15 years, we have never had a power outage."

Marghie Seymour called from Littleton, New Hampshire, where she listens to New Hampshire Public Radio. She heard our piece about Moe, the 36-year-old department store turtle living in Portland, Maine, and wanted to share her own story about a turtle given to her by a friend.

SEYMOUR: And that was seven years ago, and he was 36 at that time. So was I. So both Sam and I are 43 years old now, and he's still going strong, too. And I just thought it was pretty interesting to hear that there's another old turtle not too far from here. Thanks for the great story.

CURWOOD: And finally, Linda Tatelbaum's story about slaughtering rabbits in her back yard one day when a carload of Jehovah's Witnesses came calling drew this response from WBUR Boston listener Nicholas Rowe. "Thank you for a segment that got me thinking about what really matters in life. I am one of Jehovah's Witnesses and I know my neighbors. Thanks to Living on Earth, I also know of a Jewish woman living in Maine who slaughters rabbits for food. By understanding where other people are coming from, we all can feel more connected. It's much easier to pollute your neighbor's yard if you don't know them."

We welcome your comments on our program. Call our listener line any time at 800-218-9988. Or write to 8 Story Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138. Our e-mail address is letters@loe.org. And visit our Web page at www.loe.org. CDs, tapes, and transcripts are $15.