Having been fortunate to survive the horrific turnpike crash which Joe Grata wrote about in his July 27 Getting Around column ("Turnpike Emergency: Accident Reveals Ineptness"), I am compelled to clarify one item.

He noted that after my accident, "The reason medical help and a helicopter showed up so quickly after the accident may be partly because Dr. Mosesso provided an 'inside number' to a helpful samaritan/rescuer who called on a cell phone." But the "inside number" was the standard number that emergency medical personnel use to access the UPMC medical command center for consultation. I had thought the person was a member of a local first responder or fire department.

Your readers and the general public should know -- and be reassured -- that the best and most important "inside number" to call for any emergency is "911." The system is set up that by calling 911, all emergency resources will be activated most appropriately and most efficiently.

I would like to take this opportunity to extend my thanks and gratitude to the whole chain of providers who so swiftly and competently extricated me, provided initial care and eventually got me back "home" to UPMC Presby. These included unknown Good Samaritans and the staff of local fire departments, Bedford Area Ambulance Service, MedStar air medical service, Conemaugh Memorial Medical Center emergency department and STAT Medevac air medical service. The state trooper and towing operator were also extremely helpful and kind, particularly in follow-up with my wife.

Having started as an EMS provider nearly 30 years ago with my hometown service Baldwin EMS, and having spent my entire career as an emergency medicine faculty physician at the University of Pittsburgh educating and supporting EMS personnel and systems, it was extremely gratifying to experience the system help me in my time of need.

Thanks to Mr. Grata for his continuing interest and efforts in making our roadways safer to travel.

VINCENT N. MOSESSO JR., M.D.
Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine
University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine
Medical Director UPMC Prehospital Care
Oakland

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Joseph Carducci's July 31 letter ("Renew Thyself") represents the typical radical, touchy-feely, anti-biblical liberalism that has invaded our culture by way of the environmentalist "green" movement.

Like many others of the "green" crowd, Mr. Carducci shows a shocking level of ignorance in reasoning (and I am not even talking about their belief in the junk-science that is manmade global warming). I am talking about their attempt to turn their cause into some sort of religious movement, by misquotations and misconceptions of the Bible, as Mr. Carducci seems to take liberty to do early and often.

The bottom line is that God created this earth for humans' use (Genesis 1:28 "Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it"). Basic principles of biblical morals demand that we not intentionally abuse the earth for no apparent purpose, but the idea that the Bible somehow demands that we stop using fossil fuels or eat smaller meals is simple ludicrous.

The environmentalist attempt to "renew" or "heal" the Earth by way of their man-led effort actually shows a shocking level of disregard to the Creator. The idea that the residents of this Earth can do anything to "destroy" God's wonderful Creation is laughable. God will destroy and "renew" the Earth in His own time and on his own terms. (Revelation 21:1).

Those who worship at the altar of environmentalism need to stop with the attempts to use God's word as an ally to their cause. Instead they need be called-out for what they are: either ignorant of the facts or members of a humanistic anti-God movement.

DEAN FALAVOLITO
Carnegie

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The Gaming Board has shown itself to be incompetent at best, corrupt at worst.

First, in Philadelphia, they license a guy who may be connected to organized crime. Then, in Pittsburgh, they license a guy who had no money of his own to invest in his casino. How does this happen?

The entire board should be scrapped, investigated and made to pay for taxpayer losses from their own pockets. And the pockets of their children and so on until we have the free arena we could have had.

My entry in Neil Bluhm's casino naming contest is "The Casino to Nowhere" since it is near the former Bridge to Nowhere. Plus it leaves the taxpayers nowhere as far as property tax relief goes!

TOM KERIN
Bethel Park

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With all this talk about sending a message to graffiti writers in the city (and in the country apparently), I offer up the suggestion that sending Daniel Montano to jail is still the wrong message.

As it stands now, this is not a new message, it is merely the word of the law verbatim: commit crimes, go to jail, pay fines, etc. The real message can and should be, "You don't have to write graffiti."

What is the point of putting someone in a cage, when there are comparable punishments that the city could use to its advantage instead of paying another city worker to do the same thing?

The youth need a better message than "be bad, go to jail." The message the city should be urging is that the youth are the future, are talented, motivated and do not have to break the law to express themselves or benefit mankind. I wish I could say, "Just look at what Mr. Montano's up to now" with hope that he would be setting a real example for my children.

DYLAN PEZZULO
Morningside

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The next three months could be the most dangerous three months our troops overseas face.

The Republicans are facing a massive rout in November because of the war in Iraq, the massive growth in government and voting against bills that would have stopped Wall Street from speculating in oil speculation that some economists blame for 40 percent of the run-up. Republicans have only one ace in the hole --and that is to find an excuse to bomb Iran and start a second war.

Sen. John McCain's only chance for the White House is for another Gulf of Tonkin-like incident, real or imagined, in the Persian Gulf. I don't think the Republican Party cares anymore that a war with Iran would drive oil to record levels and destroy the American economy. It's all about winning the White House at any cost.

TONY PITTORE SR.
Penn Township

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With the construction project at the West End Circle, doesn't it seem like a good idea to lift the restrictions on the HOV lanes in the Wabash Tunnel?

Let more people use the tunnel. It would give a lot of people the chance to see the benefits and hopefully continue to use when the West End project is completed.

STAN KENDRA
Green Tree

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A few months ago the public was assured that the price of gasoline would rise to the $5 per gallon area in the near future.

This prediction seemed written in stone. The chief priests, scribes and the elders agreed that high fuel prices were inevitable.

A four-day workweek was started by some cities, talk of alternate fuels filled the radio airwaves, and hybrid cars were seriously spoken of. Airlines might be forced to close down completely or severely limit service.

When consumers began to drive less, prices started to drop. Not precipitously, but to a point where the pundits agreed that $3 per gallon gasoline might come around again.

Consumer were held upside down and spanked until the money fell out of their wallets. It seems to be the consumer's fault that the United States is dependent on foreign oil. Americans are arrogant and ungrateful not to appreciate that the rest of the world needs oil as well.

This brush with $4 per gallon fuel should show the consumer the error of their ways. Americans must rush out and spend $30,000 for a car that will get 33 miles per gallon and get rid of that 25 MPG gas-guzzling SUV, a trade-in that no dealer wants.

I do think there was a global sleight of hand or a misdirection play. Other goods and services increased wildly and consumers can only recoil from certain products, food not being one of them.

What product will shoot skyward next? Coal? Hold on to your electric bills ("Coal Price Soars, Electric Rates Close Behind," July 27).

ROBB TRAPPEN
Arnold