Air Date: Week of January 8, 1999

Listeners respond to recent stories about American Indian environmentalism, migratory songbirds, and pesticide testing on humans.

Transcript

CURWOOD: And now comments from you, our listeners.

(Music up and under)

CURWOOD: Michael Cosgrove, who listens to Living on Earth on KUOW in Seattle, said our story on Native American environmentalism is part of a misguided trend that rewrites history to paint Native Americans as ardent defenders of the environment. He says, "We keep getting this embarrassingly anti-intellectual pablum, which is white people's fantasy of native thought," And adds, "It's so, dare I say it? New Age."

Our story on migratory song birds colliding with communications towers drew a wide response and several ideas for making the towers less of a threat to the birds. One of them came from John O'Donoghue, who listens to us on KLCC in Eugene, Oregon. "If it's the lights on the towers that are attracting the birds," Mr. O'Donoghue says, "why not replace them with radio beacons that can transmit warnings to aircraft?" He writes, "This solution has the further advantage of reducing light pollution for the benefit of those who like to see the stars from time to time."

Finally, our story on pesticide testing on humans caught the ear of Greg Twain, who hears us on KOPB in Portland, Oregon. He writes that he's all in favor of testing pesticides on humans, on one condition. Mr. Twain wants the subjects to be limited to the boards of directors, 12 highest-paid executives, And chiefs of the research and development departments of the chemical companies desiring such data.

We welcome your comments on our program. You can call our listener line any time at 800-218-9988. That's 800-218-9988. Or write 8 Story Street, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138. Our e-mail address is LOE@NPR.ORG. Once again, LOE@NPR.ORG. And check out our Web page at www.livingonearth.org. Tapes and transcripts are $15.