Air Date: Week of July 14, 2006

We take a dip into the Living on Earth mailbag to see what our listeners have to say.

Transcript

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

Charles Estus of Yarmouth Port, Massachusetts hears us on WBUR, and he wrote to say our segment commemorating the 50th anniversary of the US Interstate Highway System ignored its high social costs. Mr. Estus writes “Folks now commute in and out of central cities to maintain their middle and upper middle class suburban life styles while physically, socially, and politically by-passing the central cities where poverty, crime and illness take their daily toll.”

KQED listener Andy Singer of Berkeley, California said our report also failed to mention “the connection between cars, the highway system and the catastrophic global warming the world now faces. The federal government…could have decided to create an interstate, high speed rail system as was done in Europe, but it didn’t,” writes Mr. Singer. He adds that decision “has condemned the U.S. to an oil-dependent, inefficient transportation system and horrific land use patterns.”

Ann Greenwood, who hears our program on WBUR in Boston, wrote to comment on our segment on lawns. Instead of confronting lawn contractors about the chemicals they use, as our Consumer Reports specialist suggested, Ms. Greenwood suggests that lawn owners should seek out an organic option. “Many landscaping companies do have such an option,” Ms. Greenwood writes, “but you have to request it. If more of us requested organic lawn care from these companies, it would send a strong message. “

CURWOOD: Don’t hesitate to send us a message. Call our listener line anytime at 800-218-9988. That’s 800-218-9988. Or write us at 20 Holland Street, Somerville, Massachusetts 02144. Our e-mail address is comments at l o e dot org. And visit our web page at Living on Earth dot org where you can hear us anytime. That’s Living on Earth dot org.