Stuccoing Redwood

* “The Stucco Wars: an Easy Fix or Eyesore?” (Oct. 4), about covering redwood-sided houses with stucco, is about more than the loss of a particular building style. It also involves the disposable way in which we too often view an irreplaceable natural world.

The trees used for that siding were several hundred to 2,000 years old and were part of an unique ecosystem. They would still be alive and growing today. Their destruction has coincided with the decline of fisheries in the area. Trees grown in their stead are cut after 40 to 80 years, resulting in an inferior product.

Properly used, redwood should last longer than a few decades. Wasting it as a short-term building material should cause us to reflect on how we are using our forests today. The remaining old-growth is more valuable as forest than as a disposable commodity.

ALAN ARONSON

El Segundo

* There was a fourth little pig. This pig covered his historic wood house with stucco. The Big Bad Wolf bypassed this home. He knew the owner had no taste.

KRIS VOSBURGH

Culver City