Copyright 2000 The Baltimore Sun Company
THE
BALTIMORE SUN
May 19, 2000, Friday ,FINAL
SECTION: EDITORIAL ,18A LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
LENGTH: 1129 words
BODY:
Plan to save forests wouldn't safeguard country's wilderness
I was
glad to see The Sun's coverage of the U.S. Forest Service's draft proposal for
protecting pristine wilderness areas ("Proposal would ban road-building in vast
areas of forest," May 10).
However, I am disappointed that the draft
plan does not reflect the forest protection vision articulated by President
Clinton and embraced by the public.
While the draft plan would prohibit
road building in wilderness areas, it leaves millions of acres of forest
wilderness vulnerable to logging and other destructive activities that are not
dependent on roads. Timber companies are very good at logging in
roadless areas, using helicopters and other creative methods.
Another loophole in the plan is the possible exemption of Alaska's Tongass
National Forest.
Leaving the Tongass out of a final wild forest
protection plan would be like leaving the Grand Canyon out of the National Park
System.
The Forest Service is accepting public comments until July 17 on
the plan. It is up to the American people to let them know that this plan does
not reflect its wants.
It's not too late for the Forest Service to
reverse course and issue a plan that protects pristine wilderness areas in all
national forests from all destructive activities, including logging and road
building.
Kim DeFeo, Baltimore
The writer directs the Save Our
Wild Forests campaign for the Maryland Public Interest Research Group.
North Baltimore forest faces threat from college
A quiet assault
on the environment is happening in Baltimore and many voices are either silenced
or complicit in this crime against nature.
The sensitive forest of
Woodberry near TV Hill is threatened by Loyola College, which wants to turn 51
acres of green into asphalt for cheering sports enthusiasts and alumni donors
with hundreds of cars ("New playlands give Loyola athletics room to grow," April
23).
Environmental activists should fight to preserve this land.
If a private institution is land-locked, that is its problem, and its
problem alone.
No community should bow down to an institution because of
its power, prestige and money.
Let's preserve public land, rather than
give it to self-serving private institutions. Myles Hoenig, Baltimore
Weapons Los Alamos built could cause real conflagration
The Los
Alamos fire should remind us, as the mostly neglected review of the nuclear
non-proliferation treaty review proceeds, that just a tiny fraction of the U.S.
nuclear arsenal could make the Los Alamos fire look like a candle -- and there
would be nowhere to go and no one to help ("Los Alamos emptied as fire nears,"
May 10).
We think nuclear weapons are "controlled" and safe -- like the
"controlled" burn that got away from the experts in New Mexico.
It is
time to take she removing of nuclear weapons for alert, and their elimination,
seriously.
Arthur Milholland, Silver Spring
The writer is a
member of the board of Physicians for Social Responsibility.
Can
triggers possess 'New York style'
Let's face it: Here in Baltimore, we
have a bad case of New York envy. In baseball, the Yankees trounce our Orioles'
division; New York nightlife is constantly pointed to in the current debate over
after-hours clubs in Baltimore and now we have a police chief from New York.
While I can take all of that with a grain of salt, I am finding the
latest case of envy too surrealistic to go without comment. This is the current
debate over whether or not our police will get "New York style" triggers on
their guns ("Police poised to replace 9 mm guns with powerful, 'safer' .40
caliber weapons," May 11).
I'm not objecting to the police receiving
these triggers, but certainly we have to step back and ponder the insanity of a
world where a gun trigger gets personified as "New York style."
Lonnie
Fisher, Baltimore
Church's closing is blow to city's artistic heritage
While attending the recent closing services at St. Stanislaus Kostka
Roman Catholic Church, I was struck by the artistry in the murals that adorn its
walls.
When this building falls to the wrecker's ball, the art heritage
of Baltimore will once again be dealt a punishing blow.
Robert E.
Ulanowicz, Port Republic
Gov. Bush will restore dignity to the Oval
Office
Texas Gov. George W. Bush and Vice President Al Gore have similar
agendas on such issues as Social Security solvency, Medicare, education and
crime.
But Mr. Bush will restore dignity, honor and respect to the
presidency, traits sorely lacking during Bill Clinton's seven-year tenure.
Bill Arwady, Towson
Union contracts help women overcome bias
In many fields our culture still does not compensate women as well as
men.
As the column by Bonnie Lipton showed, professional women athletes
don't receive the same compensation as their male counterparts. Only by joining
together did the U.S. women soccer players get what they wanted and deserved
("Equal work should mean equal pay," OpinionCommentary, May 9).
It's no
wonder that many women are seeking to unionize to get their fair share of the
pie. Not only do union contracts spell out job duties, but they also have pay
grades that don't discriminate -- no matter what sex or race one is.
Unions provide an avenue for women to address their concerns and
grievances. It's not just a contract, it's a lifestyle.
Chuck Dobry,
Baltimore
The writer is shop steward for Communications Workers of
America Local 2100.
Atheism isn't a religion
The recent letter
"Evicting God from the public square" (May 13) is typical of the thinking of the
conservative tyranny that has swept the land.
As if humans could evict
God from anywhere. I'm sure God, if He exists, stays or goes where He wants.
The letter also twisted the meaning of words: Atheism is not a religion;
it is the choice not to believe in a mythology, which is what all religions are.
George Edwards, Baltimore
Image of bra-wearing man shouldn't be
visible to kids
I was very upset by having to explain the photo in the
May 4 Sun of the man in the bra from the Bloodhound Gang to my 7-year-old son at
the breakfast table.
Pictures such as this are inappropriate for a
mainstream newspaper that children may view. They can confuse and sometimes
frighten young children.
I understand why the concert is newsworthy, but
I believe it would have been appropriate to discuss it only in print.
Young adults and others interested in this event could learn about it by
reading the article and discussing it with peers or others whose judgment they
respect.
This would promote literacy, something that The Sun has
declared a priority.
Or is The Sun's main priority to pander to prurient
interests?
Salvatore Fili, Sparks
GRAPHIC: Photo(s) Saving weapons lab? Manuel
Orona fights brushfire near Los Alamos, N.M. on May 10.
LOAD-DATE: May 22, 2000 
