Air Date: Week of June 19, 1998

Recent listener comments responding to our segments on bottled water, horse whispering, and single child families.

Transcript

KNOY: And now, time for your comments.

(Music up and under)

KNOY: Tom Brennan lives near San Francisco and listens to our program on K-A-L-W. As a professional in the field of environmental health and toxicology, he closely followed our series The Thirst for Safe Water, and he was particularly interested in our report on bottled water. He writes, "When I moved to this town in northern California, I called up the local municipal water department and asked for information on contaminants in the tap water after treatment. They sent me a data sheet in a couple of days listing levels of chemicals that existed and the corresponding permissible levels, all of which were met. So why can't I get the same thing from bottled water companies, and why don't labeling laws apply to these companies?"

And John Brooking, who hears us on Maine Public Broadcasting, wrote to comment on our interview with Bill McKibben, who wrote a book advocating single child families. "While I largely agree with Mr. McKibben," he writes, "there is another aspect to this subject that I kept waiting to hear mentioned in the interview, but it never was, and that is adoption. There are so many children already on this planet and in need of homes, and a conscientious environmentalist can adopt as many as he or she wants to, without impacting the current population."

Let us know what you think about our program. Call our listener line any time at 800-218-9988. That's 800-218-9988. Or e-mail us at LOE@NPR.ORG. Again, that's LOE@NPR.ORG.