Air Date: Week of March 24, 2006

We share some of your responses to recent Living on Earth stories.

Transcript

GELLERMAN: Many people wrote in about our stories on the booming baby business. For some listeners our conversation with author Deborah Spar about the hot market for adoption, in vitro fertilization, sperm donation and surrogates was a sign that the times are indeed a changin’.

“While listening to your articles I made some notes and realized that about 40 percent of the people I know cannot have children the traditional way,” writes Stephen Grabowski, a listener to Maine Public Broadcasting. “Just like adoption is no longer a hush-hush business, being infertile is no longer shameful.”

Amber, a listener to New Hampshire Public Radio, says what’s missing from the debate are the opinions of those conceived using these new technologies:

“We are now in our twenties,” she writes, “and it would be nice if the industry asked us for our thoughts on the issue, especially any of the long term affects on children and society that experts spend so much time debating.”

In her commentary about the baby business, contributor Bonnie Auslander grappled with the environmental consequences of having more than one child. Allison Eddyblouin, a listener to Maine Public Broadcasting writes:

“It sounds nice to say that having fewer children can save the world, but I can see problems with this assumption, both economically and environmentally. If you’re really concerned for the planet,” she writes, “live as if you’re in the developing world.”

Roberta Morris, a listener to WKAR in Ann Arbor, Michigan, was interested in our recent story about the Biosphere 2 experiment, but says we didn’t answer a crucial question:

“Surely, after 10 years, someone has determined WHY they had insufficient oxygen and too much CO2? Did they make a little mistake in arithmetic?” she wonders.

And finally, a correction to the Biosphere story. We said that Biosphere 2 was celebrating its 25th anniversary. Actually, it was the 15 year marker. September 26th, 1991, to be precise.

Don’t hold your breath….let us know what’s on your mind. Call our listener line anytime at 800-218-9988. That's 800-218-99-88. Or write to 20 Holland Street, Somerville, Massachusetts, 02144. Our e-mail address is letters at loe dot org. Once again, letters at loe dot org. And visit our web page at Living on Earth dot org. That's Living on Earth dot org.