"I am always surprised when I hear well educated engineers talk about the 'myth' of human caused global warming. Are engineers practicing wishful thinking because they do not want to admit that they have some responsibility for the problem? Is it a mistrust of the mathematical models or the data?

"There is little legitimate dispute over the fact that CO2 concentrations have been increasing based on human generated emissions. An engineer certainly cannot dispute the facts of basic physics; increasing CO2 and other greenhouse gases will trap more heat on our planet. Given those two ideas, the resistance to the theory of significant human caused global warming must be due to suspicion of the climate models. I think you will find that the current climate models have vastly improved over the past decade and hey all predict on a significant climate change based on projected CO2 emissions, although they can disagree on the magnitude of the change.

"Perhaps there is another reason for the suspicion of human caused global warming. In your article, you cite human ego as a factor. In other words, you imply that humans want to be recognized as a force on the planet, when in reality, they are not very significant. I cannot disagree more. Humans are a force on this planet; simply look at the number of species that have been driven to extinction, the forests that have disappeared, desertification, depletion of ocean fisheries, and the ecological disasters that continue to happen."

Laurie Williams [lauriew@williamsbrothers.com.au] from Australia is enthusiastic about Solar Tower development:

"I wonder whether generation plants built on solar tower principles may get significant results. They are becoming cheap to build. Distribution and sale of electricity anywhere on the planet where it's needed is more attractive than construction of large, centralized nuclear plants.

"This idea has been around for something like 20 years. It is very impressive simple technology, already proved in pilot form. Just a few solar tower plants would provide the same (peak) power as an average nuclear plant, with none of the risks and at far lower running cost, with no water needed in operation.

"I can see how solar tower plants could be included in a set of power generation plants of different types, with hydro, tidal, wind and photovoltaic generation, with balance of numbers and outputs of the different types of generation plants depending on many factors, including season, time of day, geography, latitude, etc.

"Excess generated energy from solar towers could be stored in the same way as excess from any other seasonal or time-dependent source, What could be simpler, cleaner and lower maintenance than free hot air blasting its way up a chimney?"

Joanne Harris [punkinmark@mindspring.com] in Florida feels that not all immigrants are willing to join the mainstream of American society, as I had suggested:

"You need to visit South Florida, where the majority of Hispanic car owners hang the flag of their own country - NOT the U.S. flag from the rearview mirror. You need ask for help in a grocery store in Miami to West Palm Beach where they look at you like you're speaking a foreign language and have to ask other Hispanic workers what the heck you're saying.

"Many immigrants here - legal or illegal in status - have no interest in integrating linguistically or culturally. They are here or the money.

"I can understand wanting a better life. What I don't understand is anyone moving to a foreign country and refusing to even try to speak the language - and they get to learn English for free!

"Yet we keep highly educated Western Europeans out of the country, saying we've already met our quota for green cards. Try again next year. We don't care that you'll pay taxes on your income, and provide professional services.

"The original immigrants came with the realization and acceptance that to forge a living for themselves in a new land, that they'd have to work harder than ever, bear up under great difficulties and have nothing until they made something for themselves.

"While some immigrants today come in with that attitude, many come only to get free handouts, to send all their income back to their homeland instead of investing it back into their new communities (which makes for a healthy economy)."