Speed Burn
In the world of competitive barbecue (“Hot Tech,” Cover Story, Aug. 4), there is a clear world champion in one category—fastest time for lighting the briquettes. George H. Goble of Purdue University (note the spelling of his name to prevent confusion with the comedian) was able to get the start time to sub–five seconds by using liquid oxygen.
Humorist Dave Barry did a column about Mr. Goble, which resulted in Mr. Goble receiving an Ig Nobel Prize (note this spelling as well), which is awarded by a group from Harvard for scientific discoveries “that cannot, or should not, be reproduced.”
George Rasko | San Jose
Flair Up
I ran across a story on Robert Arredondo by Jessica Fromm (“A Flair for the Dramatic,” Style, Aug. 4). As a stylist and publicist, it is refreshing that local designers are being featured in your newspaper. Please continue showcasing Bay Area fashion/designers, and I look forward to reading your articles. Keep thriving!
Tina Sanchez | San Jose
Waste Land
Reports from the Gulf of Mexico tell us that the oil-spouting BP well has finally been sealed and that the devastating impacts of the massive oil spill on beaches, wildlife habitats and marine ecosystem are gradually abating.
However, there is a more clear and present danger lurking in the gulf, yet there are no immediate plans to abate this much larger, deadlier and continuing spill smothering life in the Gulf.
According to Wikipedia, there is an 8,500-square mile “dead zone” (roughly three times the size of the BP oil slick) resulting from the Mississippi River dumping into the Gulf of Mexico.
Chief contributor is American agriculture, spewing billions of tons of factory-farm animal waste, overloaded with nitrogen and other potentially damaging nutrients from petroleum-based fertilizers and pesticides, producing vast algal blooms that suck up oxygen from the water, killing all marine life.
We react dramatically to unanticipated threats like the BP oil spill and accidental deaths. Yet we tend to accept and tolerate the much more damaging, but routine, threats from animal waste discharges and deaths from killer diseases linked to meat and dairy-laden diets.
Larry Rogawitz | Santa rosa
