Mr. Rubens opens and closes his article with “riots for food rocking the developing world” and “already claiming lives”. He then tucks in the middle of the article the mention of fallow farmland not being used to save lives or cease the rocking in developing countries. Is Mr. Ruben suggesting or researching incentives to connect this land not being used to quell these food riots all over the world, or is global warming starting to lose some of its political appeal? My wife and I have contributed over $10,000 on our modest income to help impoverished people overseas and my wife just returned from India helping orphans. We are a little sensitive to proponents making emotional appeals for political ends.

As for the 1400 petitions, now as Paul Harvey says it “now for the rest of the story”. There was a very enthusiastic town rally to show support for Osage’s proposal. In an article located at http://www.vancnews.com/articles/2007/08/06/south_hill/news/news01.txt?fromrss=1, a local lifetime resident and supporter of the proposed project said this: “.

”Everybody on our committee wants to see Chase City come back to what it used to be,” said Monty Hightower, a lifetime resident of Chase City and organizer of the evening’s informational and support meeting. ‘We felt that there was so much negative energy towards the company, and that they [The Association to Preserve Mecklenburg County] were spreading a lot of misinformation that we felt that we had to come out and give people a choice.’

Hightower said members of his newly established group have taken the pulse of community opinion in Chase City and found that there is more support for the proposed plant than has been reported. ‘A consensus is that the majority of the community is in favor of it,’ he said.” As Lt. Friday would say to Ms. Wallace, “just the facts, ma’am”.