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Letters to the Editor: Douglas' dream I Have a Dream for Ashland. As the relatively new owner of Ashland Commons (a small group and family lodging business), I recently took in three homeless men for 3 weeks while I had no paying business. I got to "hang out" with these gentlemen, and now consider them to be new friends. They have just "hit the streets" again, and I was sad to see them go. I learned from each one - all fine young men making a difference in the world in their own way. Talk about peace, these three lived it despite obstacles that you and I can't conceive of. I have emerged from this experience with a dream. Ashland can afford all the best amenities - parks, new library, ski area, AFN, quality streets, golf course, OSF, to name but a few. Here's what I want for/by Christmas this year. Let's make a commitment to fund and build a shelter for the less fortunate. I'm sure the homeless would even help. They just need some help, support, a few good deeds, a break that can "buy them some time," not to mention warmth. I hereby issue a challenge. Let's leave a legacy of a homeless shelter in our fine community by taking some bucks out of the losing stock market, and putting them to better use. Step up to the plate and contact Sue Ward at 482-2653 (she is the angel who coordinates The Uncle Foods Diner gourmet meal every Tuesday night at Trinity Episcopal Church for over 100 grateful souls). This isn't a big deal, except for those shivering hearts that call out in the night. Thanks for your help. Stuart Douglas, Ashland Is consumption dooming our progeny? In 1992, the officers of the Royal Society of London and the US National Academy of Sciences warned the world leaders who would gather in Rio de Janeiro that June at the UN Conference on the Environment and Development that we are in danger of irrevocably reducing the earth's capacity to sustain us. Later that year, over 1,700 of the leading scientists from around the world issued "World Scientists' Warning to Humanity," expressing the same alarm. In 1995, two astute researchers developed a clearcut way of demonstrating how serious the situation is, calling it 'our ecological footprint." This states how many acres of productive land are required to support our consumption. For the US, this is about 25 acres per person; half that for most industrialized nations. The average for all Earthlings is 5.7 acres, but even this is 33 percent larger than the productive land available: So we are living off our capital - obviously unsustainable. And what are we to do about the half the world that lives miserably on 2 acres or so? What do you think we should do about this? What should you and I do immediately and for the long-term well-being of our future family members? If we continue to do nothing, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (war, famine, disease, and poverty) will take over - and they are already riding. Frank H. Hirst, Ashland Guest forum: No guest forums LINKS: DAILY TIDINGS: Main | News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Opinion | Columnists | AP News | Subscribe | Archives | Weather | Classifieds | Contact Us | Privacy REVELS: Main | Calendar | Dining | Movies | T.V. OTHER: Road Cams Copyright 2003 Ashland Daily Tidings 541.482.3456. 1661 Siskiyou Blvd., Ashland, OR 97520. Ottaway Newspapers, Inc. - Advertisers -