Common Ground: Read It, Love It, Compost It

June 2008 | Letters to the Editor

Read It, Love It, Compost It

I recently picked up your March and April editions at the Seattle Green Festival. I haven’t put them down since! Wow — what a fabulous publication!

I’m not sure if you have recently done an article on composting, but your magazine inspired me to see what I could do for the environment personally. I live in the suburbs with three single women. We all grocery shop and mostly eat separately, due to hectic fulltime work schedules. This means a lot of uneaten fruits and veggies end up in the trash — in the same plastic bag we bought them in. Since this realization, I have created a household compost — a little thing almost everyone can do to reduce their carbon footprint. I would love to see an article on compost information, resources, stores to buy compost products, etc.

—Averie Garman, Seattle

Thanks Averie! Look for composting stories in the future — as well as plenty of smart composting tips on our sister site, lime.com. In the meantime, remember, since we print our mag on recycled paper with soy ink, you can always compost it when you’re done (although we suggest you pass it on to a few friends first)!

Kudos From An Anti-Breeder

I thoroughly enjoyed the April issue; I found the articles well written, well researched, and, more often than not, quite amusing. They covered some fascinating solutions to the environmental crises of today and tomorrow. However, I couldn’t help but notice the greatest problem of all was mentioned only briefly by Ms. Boyd (p. 30, “Earth for Hire”), who wrote, “The culprits are human. On the one hand, today’s exploding populations require more services than when there were fewer of us on the planet. At the same time, there are fewer ecosystems altogether to provide the services.”

Well, I can’t imagine much of your readership could have been astonished by those three sentences. We must ask ourselves this question: do we want our descendants to be happy, or numerous? For me, the answer was easy. That’s why I, who am 22 and childless, underwent a vasectomy three months ago.

— Matt Wilson, Seattle

Tomato, Tomato

In your letter “Going Places” in the April issue of Common Ground you state the following: “It’s a useful reminder to me that the editor of a Bay Area eco-lifestyle magazine might not be the best judge of just exactly how your average American (you know, the ones who pronounce it “echo”) interprets this movement.” The part that stands out in the statement is the parenthetical “(you know, the one who pronounce it “echo”)”. Why make this statement?

Is it not enough that people across America are talking about “eco” issues? Personally I don’t care if it is pronounced “ee-ko” — “echo” — “elephant” or whatever — the point is that people are taking note and talking about the issues. It is exactly those kind of statements which breed intolerance, myopic vision of the larger view and a general disdain for anything or anyone who does something different.

Because you are an “editor of a Bay Area eco-lifestyle magazine” you should look at embracing the meanings of openness, compassion and acceptance. Your statement is equivalent to the elitist commentary made by any extremists — conservative or liberal.

—Ethan E. Allen, via email

Good point, Ethan. You’re right — who cares how it’s pronounced, as long as people are talking about it. Still… just for the record, people, it’s E-co, not Echo. EEEE-KO! Not that it matters. Thank you.

Baby’s Got Pinchbeck

Recently, you printed a letter to the editor from a reader regarding the “Prophet Motive” column by Daniel Pinchbeck. The reader mentioned they were not a fan of his work.

I’d like to add my contrasting opinion. Though I’ve read and enjoyed your magazine for many years, I feel that “Prophet Motive” is the best regular feature it’s ever had. Since discovering this relatively recent column, I hurry to read it first when I get a new issue. Mr. Pinchbeck provides highly intelligent, insightful and balanced perspectives on a variety of controversial topics.

— Amanda Russell, Los Angeles

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