Open Letter To The Business Community:

We are local businesspeople who support environmental protection. We are writing to encourage you to continue your efforts to support Ann Arbor's most prominent environmental organization, the Ecology Center.

Four weeks ago, we were very surprised to receive a letter from a Mr. John Psychas which made various allegations about the Ecology Center. You may have received this letter too. Soon after, we received an envelope from a Mr. Adam Paul Banner which repeated some of Mr. Psychas' charges, and added some new ones. Mr. Banner even included an old tax return of Recycle Ann Arbor. If you received the first letter, then you probably received the second one, too.

We have never met either Mr. Psychas or Mr. Banner. We had never heard of them before receiving their mailings. Under ordinary circumstances, when people communicate with our businesses, they identify their affiliations and their interests in writing. Mr. Psychas and Mr. Banner did neither, and we had no alternative but to question their motivations.

We are, however, familiar with the Ecology Center. Over the years, their staff have included extremely hard-working, dedicated individuals who work for little pay. The organization surveys their members regularly for input about the issues on which they are working. The Center has done marvelous work in the Ann Arbor area, promoting parklands, energy conservation, clean air, and clean water, and almost singlehandedly introducing recycling to this area. Their work improves our quality of life and it enhances the environment in which we do business.

There are two Ann Arbor News articles (both from Oct. 5, 1992) which shed light on the motivations of the Centers critics [ed. note - the articles describe these individuals' links to Gelman Sciences]. The smear tactics of Mr. Psychas and Mr. Banner are reprehensible. You may be a contributor, advertiser, or other type of Ecology Center supporter. Whatever your method, please join us in continuing or increasing your support to help the Center withstand the underhanded efforts aimed against it.