Air Date: Week of July 31, 2009

Corrections, compliments and complaints. . .our listeners sound off.

Transcript

YOUNG: Time now – for your thoughts.

[LETTERS THEME]

YOUNG: A correction from listener John Woolley who hears us in Palo Alto on San Francisco station KQED. Our story about the 1872 hard-rock mining law mentioned Brigham Young’s arrest for polygamy. We goofed when we said he had 103 wives. He probably had no more than 55.

Our feature on dandelions had a lot of listeners praising the flower’s power as health food. Podcast listener Sou Saephan writes “My parents and I are immigrants from Southeast Asia and eating wild plants including dandelions is a way of life. Is there a health risk to eating dandelion buds?”

We checked it out - the USDA says dandelions are indeed vitamin and mineral rich, and it’s okay to eat the buds – just look out for pesticides.

Finally, feedback from New Hampshire Public Radio listener Derek Teare, to our interview with poet Campbell McGrath. McGrath imagined the experiences of George Shannon, who strayed from Lewis and Clark’s expedition – and came across.

MCGRATH: Great herds of the buffalo all around me. Buffalo. Buffalo. Buffalo. Buffalo. Buffalo. Buffalo. Buffalo. Buffalo. Buffalo. Buffalo.

YOUNG: Mr. Teare wrote:

TEARE: Love your show, which we listen to in New Hampshire but last night’s buffalo feature caused some insomnia in our house. The piece on Shannon was extremely interesting, but you should never have let that self-styled poet just keep repeating the same 3-syllable word ad infinitum - that was sheer lunacy, lunacy, lunacy, lunacy, lunacy, lunacy, lunacy, lunacy…

YOUNG: Okay. Lunacy, polygamy, or edible greenery—whatever your thoughts, we’d like to hear them. You can reach us at comments@loe.org. Once again, comments@loe.org. Or call our listener line, at 800-218-9988. That's 800-218-9988.
Just ahead - the hunt for giant pythons in Florida’s Everglades. Stay with us - on Living on Earth.