Cooperative Living May 2016 - 6

Mailbag
VIEWPOINT COLUMN 'A KEEPER'
Please accept this heartfelt note of
gratitude for Richard Johnstone's MarchApril
Viewpoint article, " The Earth
Endures, the Earth Abides. " It was so
timely and so needed.
My eyes moisten and my heart
rejoices at the thoughts in the column.
Thanks for reminding us that, this too
shall pass. This column is a keeper!
- Lillian Hicks, Amelia
FLOWER PHOTO TOOK READER
BACK IN TIME
The beautiful picture of the Bleeding
Hearts on page 1 of the March-April issue
took me instantly back to my childhood,
over 60 years ago.
My dad was an avid flower and
vegetable gardener and delighted in
" touring " his plants with family or
visitors. One day (I was probably about
7 years old) we stopped by the Bleeding
Hearts and he informed me that they
were also called " Lady in a Bathtub. " If
you pick one of the flowers, turn it
upside down, gently pull the pink tabs
away from the white center ... Voilà! A
lady in a bathtub!
Thanks for the memories.
- Pat Bakutes-Mitchell, Mineral
YOU GET WHAT YOU PAY FOR
In the Mailbag letter, " Don't We Want
Reliable, Low-Cost Power? " (page 4,
March-April issue), after a discussion of
various power sources and
environmental issues, a member
concludes, " Don't we want the mostreliable,
least-cost solution? " As my wife
frequently reminds me, " You get what
you pay for. "
- Henry (and Linda) Haussling,
Cross Junction
WhatzIt?
Make your best guess at this photo of a
familiar but unidentified object. Send it in
writing with your name, address and phone
number to WhatzIt?, c/o Cooperat ive Living,
P.O. Box 2340, Glen Allen, VA 23058-2340; or
guess online at www.co-opliving.com under
" Contests. " Dead line for entries is May 15. All
correct entries will be put into a drawing and a
winner announced in the July 2016 issue. The
winner will re ceive a check for $25. 
4 | Cooperative Living | May 2016
GROUNDSHAKER WAS
SECRETARIAT'S GREAT-GREAT
GRANDDAUGHTER
I read the article in the MarchApril
issue about the Virginia
Horse Festival April 1-3. I love
the photo of Groundshaker!
However, I read on the
NOTE
EMAIL
WRITE US!
ADDRESS
Secretariat website,
www.secretariatsmeadow.com,
that Groundshaker is Secretariat's
great-great granddaughter. The
caption identifies her as a grandson of
Secretariat. I just wanted to correct that
mistake.
Anyway, I'm delighted to learn an
LETTERS ARE BEWILDERING
I am bewildered by what I see in the
Mailbag section of this magazine when it
comes to climate change. In the last couple
of issues, for example, almost all the letters
on the subject argue against what the overwhelming
majority of climate scientists are
saying - that climate change is real; that it's
human-caused; and that we must address it.
What does this mean? I can think of three
possibilities.
Does Cooperative Living have an agenda
that leads it to go out of its way to promote
the denial of what the scientists are saying
on this subject?
Are a majority of the subscribers to this
magazine people who think they know
better than the scientists?
Since a majority of Americans of both
political parties say climate change is a
problem that must be addressed, is the
disproportionate representation of science
deniers in this magazine a reflection of such
people being more likely to write to
Cooperative Living than those who respect
the science?
And to those who do sincerely believe in
We want to hear from you - comments,
opinions, suggestions. Your letter must be
signed and legible. We reserve the right to edit for
grammar, style and length, with a 250-word maximum
for acceptance. Write: MAILBAG, P.O. Box 2340, Glen
Allen, VA 23058-2340; or email mailbag@co-opliving.com.
Please include your name and city/town of residence, with
Mailbag as the subject.
the position over-represented here, I would
like to ask, in my bewilderment, this
question.
offspring of Secretariat is coming home.
- Terri Campbell, via email
On what basis do you come to believe
that you know better than the thousands of
scientists all over the world who have been
studying this issue for more than a
generation? (Or do you believe that your " I
am not a scientist " political leaders who
receive campaign funding from the fossil
fuel industry are more to be trusted on such
a scientific question than the experts?)
- April Moore, Orkney Springs
PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRINT BOTH
SIDES OF THE STORY
Regarding two letters in the January
Mailbag, one writer claims to like diversity
while chastising someone for writing a letter
contrary to his views and the editor for
printing it. The writer goes on to say the
vast array of scientific opinion is that climate
change is not a myth. The second letterwriter
writes that over 99 percent of the
world's scientists agree climate change is a
man-made problem.
These statements are false and I
challenge the letter-writers to document
their claims. What can be documented is
the more than 31,000 scientists who signed
a petition rejecting the theory of humancaused
climate change or global warming.
You can look it up at National Center for
Public Policy.
The February
2016 WhatzIt?
was a woven
basket and
reader Christal
Godfrey
of Surry was
our $25 winner.
Congratulations,
Christal!
 DO YOU KNOW WHAT THIS IS?
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Cooperative Living May 2016

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Cooperative Living May 2016
