Quotes of the Day

All those activists, scientists and so on [Oct. 6] striving for a better world in a broad sense, and a cleaner environment in particular, are truly deserving of our admiration and support. But obviously they are all swimming against the tide, since the world's population is growing by 60 million souls every year. At the same time, we have a moral responsibility to ensure that the living conditions of poor people all over the world are improved, but this improvement will mean more consumption, more problems with food and resources and more garbage. What do we think we're up to? The planet of the apes is no longer science fiction — we are living on it.
André Brossé, VOSSELAAR, BELGIUM

I was very surprised to see that you didn't mention Pulitzer Prize-winning author Jared Diamond, for his book Collapse. If everyone read this book, the world would be a better place. He has certainly informed the public of environmental dangers better than most of those other people, who we've never heard of.
Kathy Raynaud, VOIRON, FRANCE

Nearly 80 million babies are born a year, all of whom need food, energy and housing. The simplest and most significant thing any of us can do to save our beautiful planet is to limit the size of our families. Yet not a word about population restraint in your Heroes issue.
Lorna Currie Thomopoulos, COBHAM, ENGLAND

I have now for 40 years done things like recycle, make compost from my garden's grass cuttings, house refuse etc. I have replaced all my lightbulbs for energy-saving bulbs. I save water and electricity by only boiling the kettle three times a day, putting the boiled water in a flask for tea and coffee later. I only put the geyser on to have enough hot water for showers and baths. I have planted maybe 300 trees in my lifetime. All this means I am helping to counteract the environmental problem, but it will never be enough because the fundamental problem is overpopulation. Unless people realize this and do something, I don't think we will ever stop global warming. So I say bravo to all the heroes, but if we do not stem population growth their efforts will be in vain. I know the subject is a sensitive one for many reasons, but if not checked it can only lead to a lot of suffering for many people now and in the future.
Johan van Venrooy, PHILIPPOLIS, SOUTH AFRICA

Congratulations, guys, as heroes of the environment I would expect no less from France. But what about France's contribution to energy efficiency in solar/laser and mechanical dynamo power expertise, not forgetting France's fashion expertise for thermal underwear, socks and gloves and a lightweight oversuit with shoe gloves. Keep innovating, guys. Your country needs you, and so does our planet. If you need further support, remember marathon runner Mavis Lindgren who, at 78, recorded a VO2 max equal to the average sedentary 20-year-old. Aerobic exercise rocks, and offers no-risk economies to the health service, and a longer active physical and mental working life.
James Gooding, ENGLAND

Bailout Fallout
This notion of a government bail-out [Oct. 6] is not a question of liberal vs. conservative but one of right or wrong. This one is wrong. The burden will fall on the people who need this money much more than greedy executives do. The executives should go down, just as any of us would have to. I realize the economic implications, but this country was built on sacrifice, and we may have to sacrifice again.
Nicholas Gamba, SAYREVILLE, N.J., U.S.

Inside-the-beltway representatives had better straighten up. With this kind of leadership, who needs Congress?
Joe Myers, MESA, ARIZ. U.S.

I never thought I'd be agreeing with Republican Senator Richard Shelby from Alabama, but my assessment of the current bank bailout conforms with his response: No! Invest in infrastructure, home weatherization, worker-retraining, green-collar jobs and whatever will move us away from our oil addiction. Rather than doubling down on our already obscene national debt, we should face up to letting the chips fall and reorganizing our lives and economy around a sustainable paradigm.
Bruce Garver, MURRIETA, CALIF., U.S.

The U.S. government should provide the $700 billion as loans to companies that want it — which would have to be repaid with interest to the Treasury. To qualify for such a loan, the receiving company should be barred from granting executive bonuses or paying dividends to investors until the loan (and interest) is repaid. This would infuse the needed money into the system and free up credit markets. But in the long run, it would cost taxpayers nothing.
Robert P. Hebbel, NORTH OAKS, MINN., U.S.

What really surprises me: why did nobody ask the simple question, "What will happen if a large number of these subprime loans default? What will happen to banks and other financial institutions? Or was it only greed that made everybody ignore that what is happening now could ever happen. Did no one take into account that thousand of families would have their lives turned upside down — virtually overnight — if this scheme went wrong?"
Frederik Steenbuch, OSLO

You asked "Who can lead us out of this mess?" We also have to ask; "Who got us into this mess and how do we get them to their Nuremberg?"
Joachim Zimmer, CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA

In Defense of Wine's Terroir
In "Fifty States of Wine," we have more underinformed pabulum [Oct. 6]. I am no snob, but I expect what's in the bottle to accurately reflect the wine's place of origin, traditions, agricultural history and, yes, terroir, which describes all of the preceding. Neither Joel Stein nor Fred Franzia has enough understanding of the subject to speak of it intelligently and should not be relied on to teach curious readers.
David Moore, Moore Brothers Wine Co., PENNSAUKEN, N.J., U.S.

Were your critic's disparaging remarks about American wines [Oct. 6] just sour grapes?
Jack Dinsdale, MILTON KEYNES, ENGLAND

Answer to Cancer: Prevention
The extraordinary missed opportunity in fighting cancer centers on the lack of primary prevention: avoid, reduce and eliminate exposure to carcinogens [Oct. 6]. Shamefully, the National Cancer Institute invests only a minuscule amount to prevent cancer, opting predominantly for a posteriori treatment. Mortality for certain cancers has decreased slightly in the past few years, but the incidence of cancer has not. With more than 100,000 chemicals and formula combinations on the consumer market and less than 5% being evaluated for cancer-causing potential, now is past the time for identifying chemical and environmental carcinogens.
James Huff, Ph.D., U.S. National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, RESEARCH TRIANGLE PARK, N.C., U.S.

Cancer is indeed all the rage. Nevertheless, this is the one trend you don't want to follow. It is an all-consuming beast which comes uninvited and changes your life forever. If you survive to tell the tale, your life changes for the better. At 21 years old, I have very recently slain this beast after a relatively brief encounter with it. I consider myself lucky. Chemotherapy and radiation used to eradicate Hodgkin's lymphoma might make you look really unattractive, make you feel like a miserable pile of nothing and bring forth an array of various other discomforting conditions; but surviving cancer makes everyday life so much sweeter. Activism, research, funding and politics are instrumental for developing strategies for creating awareness and combating cancer. Cancer, as conversation topic, is taboo among the young. Youngsters (especially young men), I find, avoid the subject, as I'm sure it generates fear. But that's OK: at the end of the day, you (and only you) have to cope with this disease. A positive outlook and faith makes all the difference. It's a decision you make.
Pieter Erasmus, WESTERN CAPE, SOUTH AFRICA

I read with interest your article on cancer. I myself was operated on last summer for prostate cancer. I am 74, so I hope for the 99% chance for the next five years. However, my opinion on cancer is that it is simply creation in reverse.
Otto V. Ludvigsen, HOLTE, DENMARK

I fear that the battle against cancer has turned into a study of greed. I am 60, and I have been watching family members die from cancer all my life, among them nonsmokers with lung cancer. I believe scientists could find a cure, but if they did, how many people would no longer be needed? Cancer has become big, big business.
S. Michael Long, LEVITTOWN, PA., U.S.

Writing Wrong?
I can't help wondering whose handwriting that is under the picture of Alec Baldwin [Oct. 6]. Not his, for sure; he was only born in 1957.
Shirley Gur Shpinoza, RAANANA, ISRAEL

Golf Crash
Sean Gregory starts his article "Crash Course" [Oct. 6] with the words "Golf carts are fun little buggers." If Mr. Gregory or the editors of TIME had checked a dictionary for the correct definition of the word "bugger," your readers would not have been subjected to such cheap, inaccurate and irresponsible journalism.
Peter Woodward, MIERLO, NETHERLANDS

• Bailout Fallout; In Defense of Wine's Terroir; Answer to Cancer: Prevention