Wrong to use coal

I read in Sunday's paper (March 15) of the Jamaica Public Service company's (JPS) plan to use coal in Jamaica. This would be a big mistake. Coal is not a clean fuel. I work in the power industry in New York and our company stopped using coal since the 1970s.

JPS should instead be looking at solar systems for power production and encouraging its customers to invest in solar systems for their heating needs. A country like Jamaica, blessed with an abundance of God's sun, should be taking full advantage of this resource.

Hopefully, the Jamaican Government and well thinking Jamaicans will oppose this development.

Mark S. Taylor, sweetness1213@optimum.net, New Jersey

No coins at supermarkets

I have noticed a trend with the supermarkets lately in that they no longer keep 10- and 25-cent coins in their cash registers. If one should take a really good look at the pricing of products, then one would see that everything has a cent value at the end. When we total our products, there is always some cents left over. however, many of the cashiers don't give back cents.

Let's take for example, I purchase a product that costs $58.60, the only change I am getting back from a $100 bill is $41 while the supermarket gets to keep the 40 cents. Figure out the amount they make for each 40 cents collected.

Well, call me crazy, mean, whatever you want to but, in these times, I am collecting my proper change.

Dora Super, rytcomplainer@yahoo.com

Local testing needed

Aside from the issue of the possibility of human waste in imported fertiliser, the following should be considered:

Accepting the say-so of the United States (US) Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) that the fertiliser is safe might not be the best course for Jamaicans. The EPA bends with the prevailing political wind and it is known to have treated human health and/or the environmental concerns as low priorities.

Sludge from domestic waste water is invariably contaminated with industrial wastes containing heavy metals, non-metallic trace elements and a wide range of organic compounds and pharmaceuticals. Its use in commercial farms and private gardens results in plant uptake of these contaminants, and eventual consumption by humans and animals, should raise health concerns.

The defence that the "product made primarily from domestic sludge and waste water has been tested by the US authorities". may not stand close scrutiny. The best course would be the Jamaican Government analysing representative samples of the fertilisers in its own laboratory.

Marsden Chen, doobage@nycap.rr.com, New York