Bickering Environmentalists Are Hurting the Cause

I found the story on Julia Butterfly Hill (“Butterfly’s Hard Landing,” by Matthew Heller, Jan. 20) feverishly thought provoking. Although I consider myself a conservative in many ways, dismissing her as an infatuated tree hugger is something I am no longer capable of. I admire her dedication and her ability to draw media attention. She is still quite young, and therefore hard to fault, but her case represents a problem in the activist population.

The article displayed the phenomenal ineptitude of the environmental protection movement. That these people fight each other--while supporting the same cause--is as ridiculous as it is sad. A perfect example is labeling someone who lived in a tree for two years as a “sellout.” As long as environmentalists maliciously criticize and question the motives of their allies, they will achieve nothing.

Oliver Lang

Los Angeles

* I was beguiled by Hill’s dedication, strength and perseverance in her goal to save Luna. However, I fail to see the connection between a glorious example of nature’s best and a cold-blooded murderer such as Mumia Abu-Jamal. Can’t someone support environmental causes and animal rights and not fall into the “Ed Asner/Susan Sarandon white guilt club”?

S.J. Phipps

Los Angeles