Amazon trees and Greenpeace

So, Mr Osvaldo Coelho (The Jakarta Post, July 20, 1995) believes that environmentalism is ripe for a bit of debunking. And fourth grade kids in Brazil learn how lungs work. Great! What they apparently don't teach you in Brazil is creative use of the metaphor. Most people I know, Mr Coelho, understand the expression "lungs of the world," and are only too happy that those lungs do the opposite of what ours do: produce oxygen and take in carbon dioxide. Without the "lungs of the world," our own lungs would be pretty useless. I hope that they teach that in Brazil as well.

Moreover, the Longman Dictionary of the English Language gives three meanings of the word lung. The third is: "an area of open ground (e.g. park or field) in a town or city--compare Green Belt." Such areas create "fresh air." So please, Mr Coelho, spare us that bit of debunking. Instead, try your hand at doing the crossword puzzle of the Herald Tribune: a great way to enrich one's vocabulary.

I am sorry that the budget and the staff of Greenpeace make you "wary of the people who earn their living defending their ideal". It has quite the opposite effect on me. I am one of a few million who support Greenpeace. And I have far more respect for those who make a living defending their ideals, than for the fat cats who get rich by robbing the earth of her lungs.

ANTON DEITERS

Jakarta