Look at the data on global warming

I would like to respond to Alex Hoogasian’s letter about being green (“”Being ‘green’ not that important,”” yesterday). I think it just shows the ignorance of a huge group of people in this world. He’s not buying into the hype about global warming. Maybe he should look at some real data, but by his comments and political science major, I doubt he’s ever read a scientific paper on the subject. I’m not a nature nut, but when the data shows that part of my home city of San Francisco could be underwater in 30 to 50 years, that concerns me. But what concerns me more is that people like Hoogasian make statements like he made without ever looking at a piece of data. Mr. Hoogasian, all I ask is that you become better informed before you speak. After a little study, if you still feel the same way, I can respect that. But I have a strong feeling that when you ignore Republicans, Democrats and Al Gore, and just look at some real data, you’ll change your tune.

-Brendan Raybuck
molecular and cellular biology senior

Three good apples at UMC

A letter published in your paper, written by Andrew Gardiner stated that there are enough “”bad apples”” working at University Medical Center to “”ruin the bunch”” (“”UMC full of ‘bad apples,’ “” Tuesday). He backs this claim by citing a single bad experience in a crowded emergency room – even stating that the staff needs to be terminated. The capstone of his rant was the accusation that the only reason he was treated in this fashion was because he was a young college student – that the hospital was discriminating against him.

The first of many unsubstantiated claims in his tirade is that his “”serious injury”” – a herniated disk – necessitated immediate care. I visited five different medical Web sites, all of which stated that a common treatment is a few days of rest and painkillers – exactly what was prescribed to him. Further, UMC has the ONLY Level 1 trauma center in Southern Arizona (averaging more than 4,800 patients a year, 1,700 of whom are considered seriously injured). According to UMC’s Web site, traumatic injuries include bone fractures, internal bleeding and brain injuries – herniated disks do not fit this criteria.

Going back to the “”bad apples”” working at UMC. I, as a young college student, was fortunate enough to have a son born at UMC in May 2005. The “”unpleasant”” staff was able to correctly diagnose my son with the life-threatening Hirschsprung’s disease. This disease is so rare that it had never been diagnosed at UMC prior to my son. Additionally, the “”unsympathetic”” nursing staff sat in our rooms (on slow nights) talking with my wife and me as we spent nearly six full weeks living in that hospital. Had we not been fortunate enough to have Dr. Madden and Dr. Ghishan caring for our son, he might have possibly died within three days of his birth. Furthermore, Dr. Greenfield did a fantastic job of putting our minds at ease before putting our 5-week-old son under anesthesia for his life-saving surgery. Perhaps this is why they, along with over 100 other doctors working at UMC, made this year’s Best Doctors in America database – a listing of the top 3 to 5 percent of doctors in America.

Mr. Gardiner, I am sorry that your experience at UMC was not what you expected; conceivably, the “”unpleasant, unsympathetic and failing”” medical staff was busy helping someone whose injuries were slightly more traumatic. Perhaps you should do some research and thinking before you take the time to write a letter publicly slamming the 3,000-plus employees at this exceptional hospital.

-Scott Lindahl
psychology senior