Letters to the Editor

What You Say

We urge schools to stop chick-hatching projects and replace them with kinder ways to teach children about embryo development and the life of birds [News, "Chickens Belittled," J.F. Pirro, May 31, 2007]. Hatching projects encourage children to think that chicks come from a machine instead of having and needing a mother hen. They encourage children to want to bring more baby animals into a world already overpopulated with unwanted pets. They encourage the view that animals are disposable objects instead of living creatures requiring a lifetime of care and commitment.

Most schools do not even have a veterinary budget, even though many hatched chicks need immediate medical care. And chicks sent to the zoo are not "euthanized." They are fed, alive, to raptors and reptiles, and some zoos even store live chicks in refrigerators to await being fed to the animals.

Students can learn empathy and about the circle of life without hatching birds in the classroom.

Karen Davis, PhD
President, United Poultry Concerns

How do you figure that if Bill Green had not run, Juan Ramos would have [Political Notebook, "The Name Blame," Mary Patel, May 24, 2007]? Simply because there were two Ramoses on the ballot? There were two Streets (Sharif and Milton), two Greens (Derrick and Bill) and a Greenlee (another Bill) on the ballot for City Council at large, as well. Ben Ramos finished only 400 votes behind Sharif Street and several thousand ahead of Juan Ramos.

Could Bill Green's victory simply be a result of some name recognition and heavy media spending? Also could Juan Ramos' loss be due to him simply being a poor candidate who would have lost regardless of Ben Ramos running?

In the end, I guess it doesn't matter. A win is a win and a loss is a loss.

Benjamin Ramos Jr.
South Philadelphia

Ed: The letter writer is the son of council candidate Ben Ramos.

What this does to the argument of Stefanie Moore [Feedback, "William Penn: Schemer," May 31, 2007] I don't know, but William Penn didn't name his colony after himself as part of some sort of nasty and nefarious plot against the human race. Charles II did. After receiving the charter for the land (from Charles to pay off the loan owed to Penn's father and get the troublesome William out of his hair), Penn sent Thomas Holme to look over what he was given.So impressed by the description, Penn named the colony "Sylvania." Charles, on hearing of the name, decided to have some fun with the resolve (and modesty) of the Quaker and said that unless he accepted the name "Penn's Sylvania," all bets were off. Penn figured he could live with it.

Andrew Kevorkian
West Philadelphia

Though Philadelphia is known as Penn's "greene countrie town," we are a paler shade of green than other East Coast cities [Loose Canon, "The Deal With Trees," Bruce Schimmel, May 31, 2007]. Philadelphia does not have 250,000 street trees. Fairmount Park now estimates that number to be closer to 135,000. According to the U.S. Forest Service, Philadelphia's 16 percent tree cover (land area shaded by trees) lags well behind NYC (21), Baltimore (21), Boston (22) and Washington, D.C. (29). Another way to measure our greenness is trees per acre. Again, Philadelphia (25.1 trees per acre) scores lower.

For Philadelphia to achieve 30 trees per acre means about 500,000 more trees than Philadelphia has today! Trees do replenish our spirit, but in the future, trees could mean survival. Scientists predict that Philadelphia will experience more intense and more frequent heat waves. How will we manage these heat waves when even 1 degree can mean the difference between life and death? Can we rely on more air conditioning in an uncertain energy future? By planting trees now, our future can be leafier, cooler and safer.

Patrice Carroll
Project director, TreeVitalize

In [News, "Verdict Nullification?" May 17, 2007], Dave Lindorff claims that the biggest problem in the Mumia Abu-Jamal trial is racism. I knew Mumia personally and firmly believe his innocence, but doubt racism caused him to be framed.

Richard Kanegis
Center City