Regarding the “evil of cement” letter (“Cement is threatening life on Earth,” Dec. 4):
People who espouse views can gain credibility by living those views. They tend to lose it when they want others to live as they direct but will not share in the same lifestyle.
May I suggest that the writer do the following and show us a “better life”:
Walk: since cars, bicycles, trains, and buses are manufactured with machine tools bolted to concrete and travel over concrete bridges. When walking, please stay off the sidewalks made with “evil cement.” Perhaps walking without clothes or fabrics made in concrete buildings would add value to his views.
Stay out of schools, shops, restaurants, hospitals, churches, the DMV, and other buildings, since they stand on concrete foundations.
Do not take medicines, since they are made with concrete-mounted equipment and flow from laboratories sheltered from heat and cold via structures that use cement.
Get rid of his dollars, since they are printed on presses mounted on concrete in a concrete building.
Do not fly, since planes are made on concrete floors and land on airports that use cement.
Turn off his water since it flows partly via concrete.
Turn out his lights, since electricity is generated in or on concrete structures and transmitted over lines mounted on concrete.
His natural gas is also a terrible tool since it partly depends on concrete for flow.
Never use his toilet, since the effluent is treated in concrete tanks.
Dissemble the Roman Parthenon, the Vatican, the Kremlin, the U.S. Capitol and most of rest of the world’s structures built over the last 2,000 years.
His letter was printed on presses mounted on concrete.
Having lived in primitive societies that did not have cement, I suggest the retired professor retire to such a place and show us by example a better way to live.
David E. Baskett
Santa Maria
This article appears in Dec 18-25, 2008.