Air Date: Week of June 11, 2004

We dip into the Living on Earth mailbag to hear what listeners have to say.

Transcript

[LETTERS THEME]

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

[LETTERS THEME]

CURWOOD: Our interview with Dawn Prince-Hughes, author of “Songs of the Gorilla Nation,” touched a lot of listeners. She told us about growing up with a form of autism called Asperger’s syndrome, and how her interactions with gorillas helped her understand herself.

The discussion struck a chord with Robert Porrazzo, who hears us on WEDW in Stamford, Connecticut. Like Dawn Prince-Hughes, Mr. Porrazo was not diagnosed with Asperger’s until he was an adult. And while more attention has been paid to the disorder in the last decade, Mr. Porrazzo laments what he says is the lack of funding for services. “My Asperger’s,” Mr. Porrazzo writes, “is my block in the road of life.”

Our piece on taxidermy raised the hackles of some listeners. Norm Phelps of the Fund for Animals listens to the show on WYPR in Baltimore, Maryland. He writes, “Taxidermy exists to support trophy hunting which is nothing more than killing harmless and helpless animals for ego gratification and bragging rights.”

Katherine Bowman of Traverse City, Michigan, expressed dismay that we didn’t explore the chemicals used in taxidermy. Ms. Bowman used to do taxidermy and tanning until she “woke up and decided I must be part of the solution to creating a healthier and sustainable world.” She continues, “There is just no environmentally conscious way to dispose of used taxidermy chemicals….what kind of legacy would I be leaving future generations?”

And finally, an apology for an error. Sid Miller of New York listens to us on WNYC and wrote in to take us to task for a comment we made in our coral reefs story. We compared a damaged coral reef to “a ragged neighborhood in the south Bronx” and Mr Miller says that reference is not only “untrue” but “prejudicial.” We here at Living on Earth agree and apologize. That comment was originally edited out of the broadcast and got back into the show tape by mistake.

And if you have a gripe, or hear something you like, you may call our listener line anytime at 800-218-9988. That's 800-218-99-88. Or write us at 20 Holland Street, Somerville, Massachusetts 02144. Our e-mail address is comments@loe.org. Once again, comments@loe.org. And you can hear our program, and our previous programs, for that matter, by visiting our web site livingonearth.org. That's Living on Earth dot org.