Mail Call

I regret Jeroen van der Veer's approach to the future ("Why Oil Will Get Cheaper," July 17). As a 27-year-old with an economics degree, I am very concerned about the future of oil and the global supply of energy in general. Civilization has been built for decades on oil energy. Now we can see the result of relying on "old energy" in a new millennium: skyrocketing prices for crude, up to $75 per barrel--with some analysts predicting $100 per barrel. This is evidence that oil has become the biggest source of conflicts, wars and economic crises in the world. So why does the CEO of Shell go after "elephant projects" in Russia, China, Nigeria and around the world when the only "reasonable project" would involve turning to a new ecological source for energy? There is so much to gain by using "green oil" and other bio-energies (including avoiding having to deal with dictators). If a significant part of the billions of dollars spent by oil-company research-and-development departments were used to develop alternative energy, the science would progress with giant steps. Biofuels mean a better and safer world for future generations. They are also the best way to avoid deep economic crises. As Harvard University Business School professor Michael E. Porter says, "Innovation is the best way for growth." Big companies such as Shell, BP and Total have to be agents of change, not just cash machines for greedy shareholders.

Jean-Baptiste Lamouliatte

Bordeaux, France

The Seriousness of Sex

Christina Aguilera laments that "people take sex far too seriously" ("Red, Hot & Blue," July 31). I say she and her ilk take it too lightly. Sex has been relegated to a meaningless recreational activity in which selfish pleasure seekers exploit others. Pop culture ignores its serious consequences--heartbreak, regret, depression, STDs, HIV, unwanted pregnancy and abortion. Aguilera is just a self-serving exhibitionist who doesn't care about her influence on girls and young women.

Carol Saucier