Human Folly and Dumb Animals

* Kevin M. O’Brien of Laguna Hills, who wrote in a Dec. 6 letter reply to “Stronger Tollway Fences Considered to Deter Wildlife” of Nov. 28, needs review of his basic biology and physics terminology. So does The Times.

In trying to describe how spending $250,000 on tollway fences was wasteful, O’Brien used the term “entropy” to describe what I assume he meant as Darwin’s “natural selection.”

Entropy is the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics, which is basically a measure of spontaneous disorder in the universe. It has nothing to do with what O’Brien was commenting on.

Natural selection, rather than entropy, is the correct term to use to say the animal problem will “correct itself” because those animals dumb enough to cross the tollway in front of moving cars will kill themselves off, and the smart animals who use the underpasses will continue to reproduce and flourish.

By definition, natural selection is “the principle that individuals possessing characteristics advantageous for survival in the specific environment constitute an increasing proportion of their species in that environment with each succeeding generation.”

DARLENE MIZUMOTO

Yorba Linda

* Kenneth O’Brien states that animal safety fences along the new tollway would be a waste of money. Spending money to help animals is wasteful because there are many hungry people who need this money.

O’Brien says that letting the dumb animals cross the tollway and be killed would allow the smart animals to flourish and use the underpasses provided for them.

By his own logic, then, why should we help people? If we allow the dumb people to starve, pretty soon the hungry and homeless problem would go away. The smart people will flourish and do all the right things and society will be perfect.

Compassionate people don’t think this way. Compassionate people understand that all species exist on this planet together, and as the dominant species currently on the Earth, we humans have stewardship of the planet.

It is up to us to help all living creatures who are hungry, homeless, victimized and abused, regardless of their species. We put the toll road across undisturbed habitat and created a serious disruption. It is up to us to make amends.

LAURRA MADDOCK

Laguna Niguel

* Kevin O’Brien’s response was interesting. I am continually appalled about the increase in the numbers of different species of animals becoming endangered, with the exception of the human species, that is.

Assume that O’Brien’s astute observation is correct in that “the animal problem will correct itself; it is called entropy. . . . Only the strong will and should survive.” Then why should the human species be immune to the assumption? The children that O’Brien worries about must not be strong enough to make it on their own.

I think we should just let the developers spend the $250,000 at the mall.

SUE GRIFFIN

Fullerton