Teens should know right from wrong
I read with dismay the article “Students’ pranks can cross line” (News, April 24).
Did these high school seniors really not know the difference between a harmless prank and criminal destruction of property?
Here is a simple guideline parents can (and should) use when talking to their high school kids: If something causes irreparable damage or it costs money to repair, don’t do it.
Here are some examples of what’s harmless: hanging your football team’s jersey on your rival’s mascot statue so that everyone coming to that school sees it, or using paint that easily washes off with a garden hose on the street or sidewalk.
Spray painting a motor vehicle? Would the students find it amusing if someone did that to their car?
It’s scary to think these kids are heading off to college with no internal barometer of right and wrong.
I seriously doubt they’ll establish one there.
Frank Manfre, Grayson
Sparing women’s lives was condescending
Regarding “Titanic also a lesson in gender relations” (Readers write, Opinion, April 24), oh, come on!
The “women-and-children-first rule” does not demonstrate that “men privileged women’s lives over their own,” but that women were considered as children: weak, not capable and needing someone to care for them.
Women (like men) have many strengths and weaknesses.
Working together as equals, men and women will accomplish so much more to benefit individuals, families and humanity.
Deborah Cantrell, Marietta
Energy efficiency is worth celebrating
Regarding “Atlanta moves up in energy efficient buildings” (ajc.com, April 11), news that Atlanta moved up in the Environmental Protection Agency’s top 25 list for Energy Star certified buildings for 2011 is great news for Georgia homeowners.
Buildings account for 40 percent of energy used in the United States. Commercial buildings account for 20 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. Atlanta is part of a growing list of cities benefiting from energy efficiency innovations.
This good news also extends to Georgia businesses (particularly those in our state’s chemical industry) that are producing the latest technologies that lower costs for home-owners throughout the life of their home.
In Georgia, chemistry companies make energy-saving technologies including styrofoam insulation, long-lasting batteries and refining gas.
The Georgia Chemistry Council applauds Atlanta and the number of businesses using energy efficiency technologies to create jobs, improve our economy and protect our environment.
Rudy Underwood, president, Georgia Chemistry Council
