June 27, 2008 04:13 pm
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G.E. crops are not solution to hunger
The Food and Agriculture Association (FAO) of the United Nations is meeting to address the growing global food crisis. The United States delegation, led by USDA Secretary Ed Schafer, is proposing that the world adopt genetically engineered (GE) crops as a silver bullet solution.
However, Secretary Shafer’s GE “so1ut1on” is little more than a thinly veiled attempt at subsidizing biotech corporations and advancing the genetic contamination of organic and non-GE crops in famine stricken countries.
GE crops are untested and unwanted by the majority of the planet’s population. Dozens of countries around the world currently ban the cultivation of any genetically engineered varieties as they have yet to be proven safe for the environment or for human consumption. Additionally, GE crops have not been demonstrated to significantly increase yield, but rather force farmers onto a deadly spiral of agrichemicals and corporate patent monopolies.
The root cause of hunger abroad has more to do with so-called free trade agreements and market speculation, than crop yields and patented hybrid crops. GE crops will only deepen the global food crisis. Iimpoverished and famine stricken countries need to be supported by redeveloping their food sovereignty to avoid deepening the crisis.
Global security is dependent upon long-term sustainability, not short-term corporate subsidies.
James Lewis, Ashland
Cloth bags are the best choice
I was happy to see the Independent publish an article about recycling plastic grocery bags (Think Outside the Bag) but dismayed to read a full article about “paper or plastic” that didn’t mention the best answer: Neither! To not encourage shoppers to bring reusable cloth bags is a serious oversight.
While it is true that plastic bags can be recycled at select retailers, the facts are that only 1-to-3 percent are recycled. About 4 billion bags end up as litter each year, and the EPA estimates Americans throw out 100 billion plastic bags a year. Recycling the 1 million plastic bags that are used worldwide every minute is not an economically or environmentally sound solution.
Toxic chemicals and precious natural resources are still being used to produce billions of bags that will be thrown away. In the U.S. alone, about 12 million barrels of oil and 14 million trees go to producing paper and plastic bags each year.
There are a wide variety of cloth and canvas bags available to shoppers — including bags at our local Kroger and Wal-Mart that cost as little as $1. If 10,000 people used reusable totes instead of plastic every year, we could keep 9 million bags out of landfills.
And that would certainly be something worth reporting!
Bridget Kolb, Ashland
Excellent Christian dramas in region
With vacation time upon us and the high gas prices, many may have to cancel their long trips. There are closer places to visit and see some excellent Christian productions.
“The Living Word” outdoor drama in Cambridge, Ohio, has been in production for over 30 years but many in our area have never heard of it. It’s presented each Friday and Saturday, June 20 through Sept. 27. It’s about a four-hour drive. Details may be found at www.livingworddrama.org
A slightly longer drive can take you to the Smoky Mountain area. There you can see “The Miracle,” a stunning musical recreation of the life of Christ told in epic proportion at the Miracle Theatre in Pigeon Forge, Tenn. It’s performed Monday through Saturday, except for Labor Day and Christmas, through the rest of the year. Web site is www.miracletheater.com/index.php.
“The Passion Play in the Smokies” is an outdoor drama presented by the Crown of Thorns Ministries and the Chilhowee Baptist Association. The production, which is in its fourth year since being resurrected, is performed in Townsend, Tenn., just 3 miles from the entrance of the Great Smokie Mountains National Park. Its Web site is www.passionplayinthesmokies.com/
The Blackwood Morning Variety Show at the Black Bear Jamboree Theater (www.blackbearjamboree.com) in Pigeon Forge presents a tasty continental breakfast, and traditional Gospel music. The show is performed almost everyday except Mondays.
The Sight and Sound Theatres in Strasburg, (Lancaster), Pa. present two great shows. “In The Beginning”, a spectacular staging of the biblical account of creation, started June 27 at the Millennium Theatre.
They have brought back “Abraham and Sarah, a Journey of Love” to the Living Waters Theatre, about a mile from the Millennium Theatre. Their Web site is www.sight-sound.com.
Mike Gambill, Ashland
Floodwall mural stirs memories
As I was going over to the Ashland boat landing, I had to wait on a train at the crossing. That just gave me a chance to really look over the beautiful mural of Clyffeside Park at 39th Street.
I have remarked before how well I like these murals on the floodwall because they have a lot of history and memories of days gone by in Ashland.
Anyway, I started thinking how the beautiful, serene little park must have been such a welcome place to go to relax and enjoy a day of recreation back then in the early 1900s. It had a nice lake for boating, etc.
In the back was a big building on a bank. It was used to accommodate various organizations at different times. It served as a casino, a roller rink and El Hasa Shrine occupied it at one time.
Then our church, the Pentecostal Church of Christ, purchased it for a church and a conference building. Then it became the Faith Bible Institute for our churches and that is when I became involved with the old building.
I went there as a student when I was about 19 or 20 years old, and I even met my wife there at one of our church services. That was 57 years ago and we are still together.
I believe I can truthfully say that year was the most fulfilling year I have ever experienced. We studied the Bible from cover to cover each day and, of course, along with our other subjects.
I will never forget that little Bible school on Clyffeside Hollow (39th Street) and also all the good, decent values I learned while attending the school that year there. Those good times never left my memories all of my 79 years.
Leonard M. Grizzle, Ashland
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