fb-pixelTo the editor - The Boston Globe Skip to main content
Comments

To the editor

Readers share their thoughts on recent stories through letters, tweets, and posts.

THE LATEST BUZZ

Thank you to Scott Helman for his important article about colony collapse disorder (“The Bee Keepers,” June 23). My family is very worried about the extensive use of chemicals in the environment and hope that Helman’s writing increases public awareness.

Linda LeRay Villalobos

North Andover

Thank you for “The Bee Keepers.” My flowers, too, have been unsettlingly quiet.

@ArnoldFIS

Posted on Twitter

The information in Helman’s article was well expressed and the public is listening. People all over ask me about bees, and there is an awareness of the plight of honeybees and native pollinators. I have had people bring me apples from their trees in the neighborhood, telling me that they had not a crop for years until I set up hives nearby.

Advertisement



Dave Genchauski / Wilmington

Those who claim that the harmful effects of neo-nicotinoids have not been “proved” are either missing the point or using a common rhetorical maneuver. For those who want “scientific proof,” the fact is there is no valid science that supports the blanket use of a nonspecific insecticide. That concept was discarded long ago but is now resurrected in this new neonic form.

Carole Whelan

Birds ‘n Bees Farm

Hope, Maine

The Globe needs more and expanded reporting on environmental items. A lot is going on, particularly in New England; some of the activity is positive, some negative, but it all needs coverage by a major media force. I hope to see more under Helman’s byline.

Gilbert A. Bliss

Middleborough

The collapse of the bees is a reflection of the diseases and disorders American children are experiencing in an “epidemic of consumption.” Not to take anything away from the bees — they are a critical part of the web of life — but it is troubling that they seem to get more attention than our children because they acutely affect industry. The impact of various toxins in children  also affects their ability to function and contribute to society, but we have a hard time understanding things that won’t occur for another 10 or 20 years.

Advertisement



Dr. Bruce Lanphear

Vancouver, British Columbia

DRIVEN TO DISTRACTION

Just a quick note to tell Jack Cheng (Connections, June 23) that he wrenched my attention away from the crossword with his first paragraph: “A 70-year-old man is blocking the base path .  .  .  . As he stumbles, I race toward second base.” It was a good wrench, as wrenches go. Loved the images, the sense of Wiffle camaraderie, teaching by showing the kids about proper rule bending — the whole piece, actually. Thanks.

David Sylvestro

Easton, Connecticut

BEHIND THE BOOM

Nice article on the origin of Boston’s Fourth of July (“David Mugar’s Magnificent Obsession,” June 23). As an Army officer waiting for my medical release after combat tours in Vietnam, I and my friend, an Army Reserve officer, helped set up the howitzers for the 1812 Overture by the Pops. Eric Moskowitz’s article finally gives some recognition and respect to the nameless reservists and veterans who volunteered to make these memories for Boston possible.

George L. Skypeck

Accokeek, Maryland

What an amazing gift these concert events have been to those in Greater Boston and afar. Thank you, Mr. Mugar. You have given us a chance to stop and pause on the Fourth, reminding us of the many reasons we should be celebrating our country’s anniversary.

Advertisement



CambridgeNel

Posted on bostonglobe.com

CONTACT US Write to magazine@globe.com or The Boston Globe Magazine/Letters, PO Box 55819, Boston, MA 02205-5819. Comments are subject to editing.