Letters to the editor Bay of Plenty Times

Lifestyle decisions made today will affect our planet's future. Photo / Getty Images

It must be delightfully satisfying that our roads are so well used and prove so popular we have bumper-to-bumper traffic.

At slower road speeds, it is easier to take in the sights, and any accident severity is reduced.

Excellent news too as the government derives millions of dollars from of petrol/road taxes.

Also the record number of new vehicle registrations means more for associated industries. Such successes have a hidden cost and, in a throwaway society, creates pollution and trash mountains. Just manufacturing a vehicle uses up more energy and resources than it consumes in its lifetime.

Twenty-first century hedonistic lifestyles borrow heavily on our planet's future. In this so called age of enlightenment there is not the political will or fiscal policy to halt our plant's destabilisation.

Lamentably, it is predictable that things will continue unchanged until the catastrophic "tipping point" is reached, beyond which Earth's recovery is no longer possible. Maybe then all the markets, banks and corporations with their huge profits will simply buy another planet?

Jos Nagels
Tauranga

Art for health

Michael Moynahan is right to inquire why art was not acknowledged in supporting personal health and wellbeing in the recent Inquiry into Mental Health and Addiction: Oranga Tāgata, Oranga Whānau which delivered 40 recommendations.

At the Incubator Creative Hub at the Historic Village, we see on a daily basis what the connection to art does to people's mental health through involvement, learning and subsequent social cohesion. How about making the Western Bay of Plenty the first district to have an "arts prescription"?

Tauranga City and Western of Plenty District Councils could support this initiative.

This would be not only visionary but great for the wellbeing of our communities.

Simone Anderson, Director The Incubator Creative Hub
Ciska Vogelzang, Chairwoman of The Incubator Creative Hub Trust Board

Tauranga

Abbreviations get short shrift

The serious situation in Canterbury (News, March 2) that meant the frontline police there will remain armed until a wanted man (considered dangerous) is in custody carried the casual headline "Police remain armed in Canty".

This sloppy abbreviation of Canterbury minimises the situation that both the police and the public are dealing with and does nothing to add to the integrity of your publication.

And since I am writing on the subject of unsuitable abbreviations I would really appreciate that we once again had sports tournaments not "tourneys".

Chris Edginton
Katikati

Another bungle

Once again we must thank the council planners for another bungle.

Our lovely promised "village urban green space" in the Phoenix Carpark is now displaying the ugliest lights that would light up any sportsfield. Could they not have designed ground lights to highlight the planting and other features?

The debacle is just going from bad to worse.

Rosemary Malcolm
Mt Maunganui

Great work

I would just like to congratulate Carly Gibbs on the outstanding chairman of the board article she wrote (News, February 24).

The story of Andy Jordan was an absorbing read, it was so honest, so accurate and described him to a T. Her descriptive writing had me almost smelling the resin and dust that can fill the air on a visit to his humble little factory. There was not a part of the story that lost me.

I was born and grew up in the Mount, a beautiful part of the world. Although I long ago migrated to Australia's version of Mt Maunganui, the Gold Coast, in pursuit of riding waves and work I visit my home town as often as possible and look forward to meeting up with Andy, with anticipation building at the thrill of getting a new custom-shaped surfboard to ride waves on.

As a friend of Andy's for over 40 years I was impressed at the depth of her facts from his life-long passion and his contribution to surfing in Mount Maunganui, New Zealand and beyond. [He is] carrying on a legacy paved before him by the likes of Bob Davies, Alan Byrne, Kevin Jarrett, Tony Waterhouse, Rodney Dahlberg, Mike Murden and countless other surfers who grew up in and around the Mount. The surfboards these guys created over the years have taken many surfers to the limits of their abilities and given them the confidence to reach even higher level of surfing.

Some of us work to provide for our needs but never get enjoyment from the process, leaving us in the pursuit of making time for our passion, while Andy has his entire work life revolving around his passion for surfing. Truly a happy surfer who has negotiated life's twists and turns to keep a stable keel(fin) with the help of the ocean.

Carly too has a special gift, the gift of writing that has me wanting to read more of her articles.

Thank you to everyone at the Bay of Plenty Times for providing us homesick Kiwis abroad with local news about local issues and local people. Keep up the great work,

David Bowie
Queensland

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