Air Date: Week of September 8, 2000

We dip into our mailbag and hear from some of our listeners.

Transcript

And now, time for your comments. Paul Greenhalgh thanked us for our story about the Torrence Barrens Dark Sky Reserve near Ottawa, Ontario. He wrote that it inspired him to establish a dark sky park in his own community near Abbotsford, British Columbia. "The park," he writes, "is nestled into the base of Sumas Mountain, and offers a relatively good view of the Milky Way not seen from downtown Abbotsford."

Cala Beatty, who listens to us on KUMN out of Albuquerque, New Mexico, heard our story from Tampa Bay, Florida, where plans are underway to get drinking water from the sea. Ms. Beatty writes, "While desalinization of sea water appears to be an interesting fix, I wonder if water use reduction measures have been toyed with as well. Here in Albuquerque, more and more people are turning off their sprinklers and landscaping their lawns with ornamental rocks and plants that don't need much water. That will hopefully allow a sprawling region to continue to live with this aquifer for years to come."

And finally, this tale from Zaphira A. , who hears us on WNYC in New York City. She was not alone while listening to our profile of moose photographer Bill Silliker, and hearing him demonstrate moose mating calls over the airwaves. Zaphira wrote us that "my three cats, who had been resting comfortably on the couch, suddenly raised their heads as one, perked up their ears, got the most amazing expressions of interest and bewilderment on their faces, and simply stared at the radio in full alert. Had the moose calling gone on a bit longer, they would have either attacked the radio or mated with it. I'd say whatever he communicated to them, they seemed to get it." Well, Zaphira, just in case you and your cats are listening this week...