The Viewpoint “Shale gas reshapes plastics landscape” (June 11, Page 6) bolsters my point that the plastics industry is insular and has its head in the tar sands.

How can you say “No one wants to put a harness on the goose that’s laying the golden eggs” with a straight face?

The Sierra Club and others are effective and they play for keeps. They have a powerful surrogate called the Environmental Protection Agency on their side as well as a president of the United States who has fracking on his kill list.

We ignore the first rule of games — never underestimate your enemy — at our own peril.

I stand corrected. I’ll take your advice and ignore the greens; maybe they will just go away.

Joel Longstreth

Brentwood Plastics Inc.

St. Louis