Mediated experience.

• Position: From Readers

Thanks for the thoughtful piece, "Out of Touch" ("Note from a Worldwatcher," September/October), about the "mediated experiences" of the new technologies. While your personal observations are generally perceptive, the language in the magazine promotes images that cause ecological threats.

An example is the term "developing countries," in the report "Genetic research is not benefiting developing countries" (Radhika Sarin, Environmental Intelligence, page 11). The Euro-centric term "developing countries" conjures up images of the goodness of development and the desirability of countries copying U.S. models of material growth that are inherently ecologically unfriendly. In the last analysis, material growth is not a desirable goal-either for healthy ecology or for quality of life.

The reality is...