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Show THE ZEPHYR PAGE 30 JULY 89 feedback the readers respond Editor: Dear Jim: Enclosed are some thoughts your publication brings to mind. First, the old battle. Your article about the Importance of wilderness areas to freedom flies In the face of reason. These wilderness areas are supposed to be established for the protection of their pristine environment They are actually being destroyed by the Invasion of humans; This brought on by the I formal designation of these places, as Wilderness Areas. strongly feel that true wilderness. In the spiritual or physical state, Is frequently dangerous to humans and wilderness protection Is natural and built In by nature. Effective protection by humans, under the present flawed concept, will require tyranny In order to protect humans and control the dangerous This destroys both "Wilderness and "Freedom. wilderness environment Honest to God wilderness protects Itself and needs no protection from humans. Now for a new battle. The Alaskan oil spill Is being exploited by the oil companies and environmentalists. I have read estimates showing where It could cost this country as much as $1 trillion (most of it environmental controls), on top of the huge national debt!! The cleanup will cost a minute fraction of that. Environmental damage, phased over a period of years, would appear to be minimal as witnessed by a spill nearly 7 times as large off the French coast over a dozen years ago. Studies of that and other oil spills over the years which show minimum damage tend to establish the fact that we are being ripped off by witch hunts and The oil companies and the environmentalists prefer their own pockets to their responsibilities to our society. They are In our face. first visited Moab 15 years ago and have returned many times since. For almost that long I have followed your environment vs. economy debates. Similar disputes are going on in rural areas all over the country, but your local version is Important to me because of the exceptional quality of your over-reactio- ns. Jerked around, Joe Stocks I landscape. Id like to congratulate your efforts for the articles In the latest Issue about the Atlas Minerals Mill and the proposed road projects, good reporting, well done. I want to complain about John Sensenbrenners commentary. He admits his I think he's conclusions are illogical, but I think Its worse than that I know are not wealthy or selfish. I Just wrong. The wilderness proponents for one have to work long and hard to pay my bills and resent hls unfair and inaccurate tactics. The real reason he Is opposed to wilderness areas is that he sees It as an economical Issue. The scientific, aesthetic (tourism) and moral worth of wilderness far out weigh any potential economic value. Wilderness is a generous act to preserve for future generations the best and least damaged land that Is left. He seems to be confused about the subject of roads. Extending the Kane Creek road does not make sense. It will not attract any more tourists, but It will allow some to bypass the businesses on the highway that are south of the Kane Creek turn off. The road to Vernal Just duplicates a NorthSouth highway in Colorado. Maybe a better idea would be to Improve the La Sal Loop road. Or better spend it on public transportation which will make Moab more attractive to elderly retirees, and could shuttle hikers In and out of town. When the price of gasoline goes up, motorized tourism will go down no matter how many roads you build. Dear Editor: Thank you. can understand John Sensenbrenner being turned off by yuppies from Salt Lake and Boulder In their BMWs, but that doesn't make any of his old, tired generalizations In the last column any more valid. The opposite is true. He Is admittedly reacting not to "the proposal of wilderness Itself but ou what he called "wilderness types with their aggressive by Larry Undenberger SL Louis, MO I Editor: better-than-th- presentation. He says, "concern for the state of the environment is directly related to ones Income and the amount of one's Idle time. One only needs to briefly consider most of the local environmentalists' financial situations to realize what hot air this Is. Old, tired, bull-puck- ey. Closer to the truth Is the fact that local environmentalists have to eat and pay rent also, and that by opposing some of these projects to "enhance the Canyonlands they are literally taking food from their own mouths. (Anyone who remembers how many locals worked on the natural gas pipeline In 1980 know what I mean.) These people have made a value Judgment that some things are more Important than a quick buck. Can the same be said for some of the prodevelopment types? I respect Mr. Sensenbrenners right to his opinion, but I suggest that he Is going to have to do better than this if he Is to be taken seriously. Bruce Dlssel Moab, Utah the traveling tub jeff davis, owner 2250 murphy In 259-846- 3 My heartfelt thanks to those who organized and participated In the Edward Abbey Memorial gathering near Arches on May 20. I am especially grateful to Kate and Laura for music that I found Indescribably beautiful, and to the various speakers, a group whose breadth and diversity clearly Illustrated the broad personal appeal of Abbey and his work. A couple of those people have elements of style andor substance that have In the past Irked or dismayed It was one of the me, but they were perfect at that place on that morning. memorable of a truly spiritual experiences my life, magnificent and moving celebration. I confess to one small disappointment. Considering the purpose and location of the gathering, I naturally expected that most of those attending would make maximum use of human powered means to get there. It didn't seem to me that I could honor Abbey while consuming petroleum. However, as I cycled out from Moab, I was continuously being passed by cars that were obviously headed to the gathering, occupied usually by only one or two kindred wilderness-lovi- ng spirits, and often with bicycles strapped to the A or back. of dozen of these parked at the foot of the old highway top couple and hoofed it from there, but many pounded and lurched up the old road (nowadays more of a "trail) to the top or even further, some to within a hundred or so yards of Eds place. Unquestionably, some folks needed THE PANHANDLER antiques and things 2nd hand Bea and Doyle Phelps 210 E. 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