Letters to the Editor
Other considerations in the climate change debate
In response to the April 7 article, "A shifting climate change debate": What is not even hinted at is a very clean technology that already exists and that safely supplies much of the electricity needs of countries such as France and Japan. I realize that nuclear is not politically correct in the United States these days, but it seems to make more sense than ethanol mandates.
It's criminal to mandate the use of a food crop to produce a set amount of fuel. The price of corn is already at all-time highs. What happens when the rains don't come? Rather than putting corn in our gas tanks, how about putting Uncle Sam's subsidies toward developing coal-to-liquid and coal-to-gas technologies to the point where they can replace burning coal itself in our power plants? That would eliminate untold thousands of tons of carbon dioxide without destroying our economy or threatening our food supply.
Jerome Lane
Winchester, Va.
Support Turkey secularism
Regarding the April 4 article, "Turkish case revives secular vs. Islam debate": The West must support Turkey in its efforts to defend secularism. The West has quickly forgotten its own fight against Islamic extremism. The "jihad" has been fought against the West on many fronts. One of those fronts is the Turkish ruling party's pretension that they are "secularist." Turkey's current prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, is claiming to be secularist even though prior to taking over the prime minister position, he was in prison serving time for his antisecular activities.
Turks have voted for the ruling party not because they want to be nonsecular but because the secular parties have proved to be extremely corrupt in the past.
Robert Ileri
Portsmouth, N.H.
Americans need to eat healthier
In response to the April 7 article, "March (pizza) Madness": I was disappointed to see that it seemed to be promoting unhealthy eating. In a country where, according to the American Obesity Association, 127 million adults are overweight, and 60 million are obese, the last thing we need is another excuse to eat food that contributes to these numbers. Of particular concern is a quote near the end of the article, from a young man whose favorite basketball team lost their most recent game, "I gotta do something to feel better."
Elsewhere, the article describes pizza as "a form of comfort food – therapy in a disc." The article is legitimizing people's overeating across the United States: If you have a bad day, eat to self-soothe; if you have a good day, eat to celebrate.
We need to stop relying on food to make us happy. We need to start practicing healthier eating and lifestyle habits. Rather than eating during a sporting event, perhaps more of us should leave the couch and participate in something that requires more of us than mindless staring and endless chomping.
Anna Hair
Darien, Conn.
Interfaith talks promote peace
Regarding the March 19 article, "Christians, Muslims set for talks": The idea of Christians and Muslims joining together to bring peace is a brilliant idea.
There is a lot of persecution in the world, and there are a lot of negative stereotypes concerning the two groups, and to bring Christians and Muslims together can help alleviate the tension and give both groups a better understanding of each other. We don't have to all agree on beliefs, but we can love and respect each other as human beings.
Monica Luevanos
Sacramento, Calif.
The Monitor welcomes your letters and opinion articles. Because of the volume of mail we receive, we can neither acknowledge nor return unpublished submissions. All submissions are subject to editing. Letters must be signed and include your mailing address and telephone number. Any letter accepted may appear in print or on our website, www.csmonitor.com. Mail letters to Readers Write and Opinion pieces to Opinion Page, One Norway St., Boston, MA 02115. E-mail letters to Letters and Opinion pieces to OpEd.
