Readers Report
Is Privacy, Too, a Victim of Terrorism?
"Privacy in an age of terror" (Cover Story, Nov. 5) is so clear-sighted and honest that I'm surprised it was published in the U.S. Certainly, there is some (qualified) public support for programs that protect citizens from terrorist attacks, and some of those programs will allow government agencies greater access to citizens' data. However, private industries are also interested in our data--to cross-market their products, set insurance rates, deny medical coverage, and set customer service levels. BusinessWeek deserves credit for trying to help readers make sense of a complex set of issues--issues that certainly deserve more public discussion and attention in the media than they are getting.
Carl Turner
Normal, Ill.
I do not understand the opposition to a national identity card. Much information alleged to be private (financial and medical) is keyed by a Social Security number, which is readily forged, stolen, or faked. The states are not uniform in driver's license requirements, and some have even sold the Social Security numbers they require to get a license. Identity theft is not pursued aggressively by police departments, and the prosecutions seem to be minimal.
I would personally favor a national identity card that has a microchip with encryption in it. This card and the identity number associated with it should replace the Social Security number for medical, financial, tax, and other sensitive information. Forgery of such a card should carry severe penalties to reduce the temptation present with today's nonworking system.
Robert A. Munroe
Lakeway, Tex.
For years, the U.S. legislative and regulatory focus has been on protecting individual privacy. However, the war on terrorism will not be won quickly or easily, and acts of terror, like criminal activity, may never be permanently eradicated. A sunset provision in one part of the new anti-terrorism/anti-crime bill is limited and can easily be extended, so it will be difficult to reverse the process to reestablish the primacy of privacy over security. The bottom line is that greater security will permanently trump expanded privacy protection.
Peter Gray
Chevy Chase, Md.
Weaning the West off Middle East Oil
We are handcuffed in our foreign affairs by our dependence on the Middle East for oil ("What to do about oil," News: Analysis & Commentary, Oct. 29). President Kennedy put us on the moon with one statement in the early Sixties. President Bush should pledge that by the year 2009, the U.S. will no longer be dependent on oil from the Middle East.
Neal Greenberg
Fremont, Calif.
Billions of gallons of gas are wasted each year because traffic lights are not state-of-the-art. Let's do a quick, back-of-the-envelope calculation: BusinessWeek stated that American cars and trucks burn 120 billion gallons of gasoline each year ("The eco-cars," Special Report, Aug. 14, 2000). The Environmental Protection Agency assumes that 55% of all driving is in cities, while the Sierra Club says it's closer to 75%. Let's split the difference and say 65% of all driving takes place in town. This means that at least 78 billion gallons are burned in city driving each year. "Smart" traffic lights and better traffic management should be able to save at least 15% of this--or 12 billion gallons of gas a year!
Al Kraig
Harrisonburg, Va.
Other than the gigantic Big Oil-automotive lobby, why is it that in almost 100 years, we haven't come up with anything better than the internal combustion engine?
Dave Jung
Colonial Heights, Va.
Well, how about alternative energy? Now that the laughter has died down, let me bring up a realistic alternative source of energy: biomass (grain, agricultural residue, wood, wood waste, etc.). It can be burned to generate electricity or distilled for internal combustion engines. Biomass, much more than just an incremental source of energy, could ease both the oil crisis and the agricultural crisis in the U.S.
Joseph Z. Bako
Vancouver
A mass adoption of hybrid vehicles and a dramatic reduction in the number of SUVs sold would eliminate all Middle Eastern oil imports over a short period of time. Increased gas taxes are all that is required to make this switch happen.
David Siegel
New York
You omitted natural gas vehicles (NGVs). NGVs are clean, reliable, and safe. Natural gas compressed into tanks in the vehicle is cheaper than gasoline or diesel. Already there are about 100,000 NGVs in the U.S. There are nearly 2 million around the world--a figure far greater than for vehicles powered by any other alternative fuel except liquefied petroleum gas.
Garth Harris
International Association for
Natural Gas Vehicles
Auckland, New Zealand
What Should Strike Terror in Drugmakers' Hearts
"Big Pharma" needs an assurance of big profits before getting too involved with antibiotics for terrorist-inflicted bugs, or else there isn't much "incentive" to produce them ("How to get Pharma's big guns aimed at microbes," News: Analysis & Commentary, Nov. 5). How about not having any people around to buy any of their drugs any time for an incentive?
Bill St. George Jr.
Ocala, Fla.
Seeking an End to Qwest's Stock Slide
As a stockholder and former employee of Qwest Communications, I've been following the fallout, innuendo, name-calling, etc., ever since Morgan Stanley & Co. first questioned Qwest's accounting practices back in June ("On the firing line at Qwest," Information Technology, Oct. 29). Since then, I've sat by nervously and watched the value of my Qwest holdings spiral down nearly 75% caused, in part, by Morgan Stanley's "gleanings" and the ensuing proposed litigation.
David M. Helmen
South Bend, Ind.
Not All Agencies Are the Same
"A debt trap for the unwary" (Finance, Oct. 29) failed to draw a distinction between accredited and nonaccredited counseling agencies. Springboard and other accredited agencies are members of the National Foundation for Credit Counseling and are accredited by the Council on Accreditation of Services for Families & Children. This sanction and its accompanying regulations guarantee that we will adhere to high standards of service delivery, counselor certification, fiscal integrity, and volunteer board governance.
Dianne Wilkman
President and CEO
Springboard
Riverside, Calif.
The Coming Wave of Satellite-Directed Aircraft
Efforts to commercialize aircraft landing systems based on global positioning system technology are more widespread and faster-paced than Geoffrey Smith's report reveals ("Coming soon: Jets that land themselves," Developments to Watch, Oct. 22).
In addition to the Raytheon effort mentioned, Honeywell is leading a government-industry team, which has installed prototype GPS precision approach systems at 18 civil airports. The Federal Aviation Administration, Boeing, Continental Airlines, and FedEx have flown hundreds of demonstration approaches using these systems. The FAA plans to have such systems ready for commercial use at major U.S. airports in 2004.
Ed Wheeler
Vice-President
Honeywell Airport Systems
Redmond, Wash.
|
Copyright 2001, Bloomberg L.P.
Printer-Friendly Version
