海角大神

Better help for bees
I loved the article 鈥淕ive bees a chance鈥� in the March 23 Home Forum section. But I hope it doesn鈥檛 end up resulting in the killing off of more bees. As has been reported elsewhere, plants bought at big-box stores are often loaded with neonicotinoids 鈥� part of the 鈥渨onder鈥� pesticides that have been bred into the plants themselves. Scientific research shows that neonicotinoids are a key factor in the decline of bees.

In our community garden, we are urging gardeners to incorporate bee-friendly plants, but also to make sure that those plants do not contain neonicotinoids (we are fortunate to have several low-cost organic sources within the city of Boston). I hope your article ends up helping bees.
Janell Fiarman
Jamaica Plain, Mass.
听

Cartoon highlights troubling trend
The March 9 editorial cartoon showing a Republican elephant and a Democratic donkey both saying, 鈥淕overnment of my people, by my people & for my people,鈥� highlights a growing problem for 鈥渕aturing鈥� societies 鈥� societies regulated and controlled by the government.

The more government regulation and control, the more people feel the need to coalesce into like-minded groups to fight for and control the governing process, to impose their collective ideals on everyone. What was originally designed as a democratically unifying process has become a divisive process. The solution is to return to more individual freedom, liberty, justice ... and responsibility.
Art Gardner
Goleta, Calif.

No 鈥榗limate denier鈥� for president
The headline 鈥淭ed Cruz: Can a climate change skeptic win in 2016?鈥� (CSMonitor.com, March 23) asks the wrong question. The real mystery is how a climate denier can be considered a legitimate candidate for our nation鈥檚 highest office.
Harriet Shugarman
Wyckoff, N.J.