Why only two presidential candidates on your cover? Must you, like the corporate media, also marginalize and ignore third-party candidates? Additionally, the information you printed from the League of Conservation Voters was incorrect: Obama now favors offshore drilling, voted to fund Yucca Mountain, promulgates fantasies of “clean coal” and now supports nuclear power. That you would promote such a pathetic record while deliberately ignoring Ralph Nader, unquestionably the environmental champion in the field, is shameful and destructive. It is worth noting that venerable environmentalist David Brower, while dying, made it a point to vote for Ralph Nader in 2000 because he realized that the spine of the corporate duopoly must be broken if we want this earth to be protected.
Cara Campbell
Chair, Ecology Party of Florida
Fort Lauderdale, FL

HUNTING HISTORY
I am the world’s leading authority on the origin of trophy hunting and its myriad influences on human behavior and culture. I would agree in principle with David Peterson’s sentiments about eating what you kill (“The Ethical Hunter in Africa,” Currents, September/October 2008), and studies indicate that 85% of recreational hunters and the general public feel the same about trophy hunting. But trophyism has been, for hundreds of thousands of years, part and parcel of a young man’s graduation to manhood because it constitutes an advertisement of his ability to provide and/or protect. The trophy is an essential element of a young hunter’s initiation to manhood to this day.

The white rhino, at one time threatened with extinction, was established throughout large ranches in South Africa where their numbers increased and they were hunted for trophies. As a result the white rhino is no longer threatened or endangered. No matter how distasteful we may find trophy hunting, the fact remains that for many larger mammals it is crucial to their conservation.
Randall L. Eaton, Ph.D.
Via e-mail

HOT-WATER TREND?
Yes, the “ocean deserts” are increasing (“Troubled Waters,” Currents, September/October 2008), but maybe it would be helpful to see the data about past growth of oxygen-depleted areas in the ocean. It is easy to blame global warming or other issues, but what if it has been happening all the time? Instead of trying to blame the cause, it’s better to offer solutions that can begin to help marine life before it’s too late.
Natalie Linares
Via e-mail

SOY IT AIN’T SO
I’ll take soy over meat, eggs and dairy products any day (“The Tofu Trap,” Eating Right, September/October 2008). Soy foods are healthy, humane and versatile, and soy production doesn’t cause nearly as much environmental destruction as meat production. Much of the soy that’s grown in the Amazon is used to feed farmed animals. It’s wasteful to funnel soy and grains through animals rather than feed them to people. Soy may not be perfect; few foods are, but it can certainly be part of a responsible, vegetarian diet.
Elaine Sloan
New York, NY

Too bad [“The Tofu Trap” author] Erin Barnes consulted with The Weston Price Foundation. They present biased ideas and do not have independent, research-based models of what constitutes healthy eating. Better to have gone to Dr. John McDougall; Dr. Michael Greger; George Eisman, R.D.; The North American Vegetarian Society; Physicians for Responsible Medicine, headed by Dr. John Robbins or Dr. Joel Fuhrman. Any one of these could have supplied balanced views of the benefits/disadvantages of soy consumption.
Len Frenkel
Bethlehem, PA

Tofu for humans and impacts from growing soy for livestock feed are two different stories of incomparable magnitude. Going all-out soy for human consumption like this vegan does is not a “Tofu Trap,” it is part of the solution essential to reducing our environmental impact.
Will Anderson
Seattle, WA

GREENER SEX
T hank you for providing information to those who wish to live a greener life about various sex products (“Make Love, Not Waste,” Your Health, September/October 2008). It was worth reading!
Shanna Seyer
Via e-mail