Letters: Population growth linked to climate change

A reader says population control could be the key to curbing climate change. Photo / Getty Images

I tend to concur with Simon Wilson's suggestions about National party politics (Opinion, July 19) but am I the only one who sees the underlying problem with this country, and the rest of the world? That is population growth.

Climate change – increased population leads to more emissions.

Pollution – increases with increased population.

NZ housing crisis – caused by more families.

Traffic congestion – more cars, more drivers, due to increased population.

I appreciate that halting population growth will cause economic downturn, as the business world has based its profitability on growth of population (in NZ's case immigration), production, tourism etc.

But like the current policies aimed at reducing plastics, fossil-fuel emissions, deforestation etc, I believe that population growth needs to be also addressed.

Bill Richardson
Merivale

Where's the evidence?

Would you ask your columnist Simon Wilson to provide the daily temperature records from the oldest New Zealand weather station still in use today?

His opinion piece (Opinion, July 19) is heavy on opinion but short of any data.

Second: What is the evidence for your columnist's claim that "within 20 years, our vehicle fleet, like most of the world's, will have to be fossil-fuels free".

Michael Esdaile
Matua

Rawiri Puhirake was no warmonger

Richard Prince is giving us a very one-sided view of our history (Letters, July 20) when he describes the Māori leader at the battle of Gate Pā, Rawiri Puhirake, as a warmonger responsible for the confiscation of local Māori land.

Reputable historians totally disagree with Mr Prince.

The government of the time promoted war as a way of stealing Māori land.

Our present government, based on the view of historians, apologised for the wrongful confiscation of Māori land in its Treaty settlement with Tauranga Māori.

In my view, the fact that Rawiri Puhirake attacked nobody, and General Cameron attacked Rawiri Puhirake on Māori land makes Mr Prince's view, that Rawiri Puhirake was a warmonger, ridiculous. (Abridged)

Peter Dey
Welcome Bay

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