Letters

Not only did Charles Paul Freund's article ("Secrets of the Clinton Spectacle," April) confirm my own observations and suspicions, it served to renew my frustrations with the current political climate.

Imagine my reaction when the very next day a TV news clip showed U.S. Senate candidate Hillary Clinton here in New York state responding according to "formula." The news story was about the recently released report on the campaign finance practices of the Clinton administration and the involvement of Al Gore and Hillary. She responded to questions with a wide-eyed smile and said it was "old news," "people know all about that," and it's time to "move on." The American people, especially New Yorkers, need to be reminded that the Clintons are still at it.

Francis Rice

Sodus, NY

tylerius@earthlink.net

Charles Paul Freund's brilliant analysis of the Clintons' modus operandi in scandal management left out an essential tactic: the realization that if an issue is sufficiently complex, you can lie with impunity. Neither the public nor the press have the patience to sort out complicated issues regarding financial regulations and legal procedures.

You can laugh in the face of the 10 percent of the people who understand the issues if 90 percent of the people dismiss any discussion of them as the incomprehensible legal jockeying of paid flacks. If matters seem in danger of coming into focus, obfuscate and complexify with an air of injured rectitude.

But the most important Clinton tactic, I believe, will be left to future historians to analyze: the systematic use of blackmail.

James Hankins

Professor of History

Harvard University

jhankins@fas.harvard.edu

Green Resolutions

Thanks for the interview with Norman Borlaug ("Billions Served," April). I've been a believer in organic gardening for years, although I'm not a fanatic about it. I don't use chemicals when gardening, but I do buy conventionally grown produce-- it's too expensive to do otherwise.

We seldom hear the other side of the food production argument, especially so clearly presented and (I hope) not biased by ties to an agriculture-based business.

Melinda Colvin

Springdale, WA

melrayran@worldnet.att.net

I do not disagree with Dr. Borlaug's statistics and I have great respect for his contributions to agriculture. I don't, however, have his faith that agricultural technology can solve the food needs of an ever-increasing population. The resources of the earth are finite.

I did advanced studies in plant and soil sciences at Iowa State with a Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. I have worked in production agriculture and agricultural research and development in the U.S., Central America, Africa, Haiti, and Saudi Arabia for more than 50 years. From what I have seen, the Green Revolution has penetrated the richer areas but has had little effect on the poorer ones. It takes money to take advantage of the Green Revolution.

A few years ago, Saudi Arabia produced only a fraction of its need for wheat. Now, I believe, they are practically self-sufficient--but at what a cost. I worked in research and development for Prince Muqrin, one of King Fahd's many sons and ruler of the Hail region. He uses short-stemmed wheat from Mexico (or at least did in that research). He pumps water from 2,000 feet and pours on the fertilizers and gets excellent yields. The government guarantees him $35 a bushel, while the world market is around $4.

I think we'd all like to eat foods and grow plants without pesticides, but that's not likely to happen, so we need to be conservative in their use and test for negative effects. We used DDT intensively on the central Illinois dairy farm where I grew up, and I probably have more of the chemical in my bones than one in a million persons.

I have cervical dystonia, a nerve-muscle disease that may or may not have been triggered by DDT (mammalian toxicity has been demonstrated). I've used herbicides and fumigants that have had long-term deleterious side effects not mentioned on the label. I was working for Iowa State when stilbesterol was introduced to increase beef production by 20 percent. It was later found to be hazardous to the consumer's health.

I think Dr. Borlaug does a disservice in labeling all environmentalists as extremists. Certainly there are extremists on environmental issues as there are extremists who think technology can solve all problems. Some of Dr. Borlaug's solutions require more fossil fuel. The cost of energy will only go up. What about the increased gases produced by technology, such as [CO.sub.2], that are destroying the ozone layer? Climate is changing and will have profound effects on all life, and potable water is in increasingly short supply.

It is amazing to me that Dr. Borlaug doesn't emphasize the need for population control along with technical advances in agriculture. Living in Haiti, as I have, would soon convince him of that necessity to maintain any decent quality of life. Yes, we need technology, but let's be more conservative--with longer testing periods for innovations and an awareness that agricultural technology must be combined with population control to maintain a decent quality of life.