Air Date: Week of October 20, 2000

Living On Earth dips into our mailbag to hear comments from listeners about our interview with presidential candidate Ralph Nader.

Transcript

CURWOOD: And now, time for your comments.

(Music up and under)

CURWOOD: Many of you wrote to say thanks for our interview with Ralph Nader. Liz Kelly, who listens to us on KLCC in Eugene, Oregon, says the conversation spotlighted the differences among the political parties.

And some of you had some advice for Mr. Nader. One woman sent us an e-mail urging the Green Party candidate to spend more time building a political base. "Nader's big mistake," she wrote, "was not mobilizing the thousands of people who flocked to work for him in the early years."

Mary Donato, who hears us on KBSX in Boise, Idaho, wrote to comment on our interview with a General Motors executive. "Your guestâs statement that despite Herculean efforts to market the best electric vehicle in the world, GM has only been able to sell less than a thousand. It made me wonder what planet I've been living on for the past five years. Apparently, their efforts to get the word out aren't quite Herculean enough. I have never seen a television ad for an electric vehicle," writes Ms. Donato, "but I've seen plenty for large trucks and sport utility vehicles."

Several listeners said our report on fuel cell technology overplayed the danger of storing hydrogen. Tom Detwiler, who listens to WPSU out of Kane, Pennsylvania, writes, "Your piece did much to diminish the promise of fuel cells. The images of reporters fearful of sparks from their cameras, and of hydrogen's old nemesis the Hindenburg, constitute at best superficial reporting. Perfectly safe hydrogen storage is available in the form of metal hydrides."

And speaking of the Hindenburg and hydrogen safety, WHYY Philadelphia listener John Levin offers the following clarification. "The Hindenburg didn't blow up because of hydrogen," he writes. "Instead, static electricity caused a substance used to treat the skin of the Hindenburg to ignite."