Aug. 1, 2008 - The Austin Chronicle

POSTMARKSIT’S NOT JUST GASCONTINUED FROM P.8Dear Editor,Nearly every week there are letters to theeditor in the Chronicle about the need to drivefuel-efficient automobiles. Obviously, less gasequals saved money. Cutting down on our needfor oil will improve our world security. Burningless oil is better for the environment. I get all ofthat. However, I feel that most people don’t realizethat the gas in your car is not your only useof oil. An alarming amount of products use oilin their production: shoes, Coke bottles, chewinggum, the packaging from your frozen dinner,ReaderCOMMENTSof the Weekaustinchronicle.com/commentsOn the APD’s cite-and-release option:“Another great report by JordanSmith. Debbie Russell’s hard workwill save the taxpayers of Austinsignificant taxes without jeapordizingour citizens’ safety. It may alsocontrol the mean-spirited and criminalpolice who love to jail innocentcivilians knowing that while they‘can beat the rap, they can’t beatthe ride,’ which is costly, allowsphysical brutality to go unchecked,and other needless adverseconsequences.”– Guest“APD,” News, July 25paint, dye, ink. How about your guitar pick,your kids’ crayons, your jar of Vaseline? Thedashboard in your car, your car seats. The tiresyour car rides on, the road on which those tirestravel. Your TV, radio, printer, fax, monitor, iPod,and cell phone all probably use oil in production.The bumper on your Toyota Prius. All thesepoorly worded, fragmented sentences probablycontain oil in some way.I’m not saying that driving a fuel-efficientauto doesn’t help all our oil problems, just thatpeople need to realize that saving 10 gallonsof gas a week isn’t going to magically fix ouroil dependency.Lastly, I find it interesting (and somewhatrelated) that Osama bin Laden said thatthe evil Americans will be punished whenoil reaches $144 a barrel. It did last week.When he made that statement, a barrel of oilcost around $7-$10. You know, less than adecade ago.Steven McCloudBEST OF A FREE PRESSDear Editor,Please tell Andrea Grimes how much weappreciate her “Texas Fiction Science” piece[News, July 25]. She pulled no punches andher analysis is thoroughly accurate. I am gladto know that while government employees inTexas are pressured into an Alice-in-Wonderlandacquiescence, The Austin Chronicle representsthe best of a free press.David AlmandsmithThe National Center for Science EducationOakland, Calif.austinchronicle.com/postmarks UPDATED DAILY Includes every item ....Choose from Bedroom, Dining Room, Living Room,Wall Units, TV carts, Desk, Recliners, Sleeper Sofas, OccasionalTables and Lamps. So you will receive an extra 8.25%off all our sale prices. In stock or Custom Order.www.gagefurniture.com 10 T H E A U S T I N C H R O N I C L E AUGUST 1, 2008 a u s t i n c h r o n i c l e . c o m