The planting of up to a billion trees would bring many blessings, writes Joy Rising. Photo/ File
The planting of up to a billion trees would bring many blessings, writes Joy Rising. Photo/ File
Pushing back climate change
It is exciting to see the article by Simon Hartley that the planting of up to a billion trees will happen in New Zealand (The Country, November 2). What a lovely way to push back climate change. This plan could encourage many blessings: that carbon dioxide will besequestered, that many young people can make a living from planting and caring for trees, that farmers can put trees on their land and help with their emission and erosion problems. It is great to see that Peter Clark of the Forest Owners Association is encouraging this plan. It is not impossible, he says, because for most of the 90s the new planting rate was more than 50,000ha a year.
Joy Rising Welcome Bay
Confused
Neil Harvey, in my view, is confused between socialism and social responsibility (Opinion, November 2). Socialism is the government controlling all production, which we do not have now and have never had here in New Zealand. The new coalition government that we now have is a socially responsible (not socialist) government. They are saying dealing with polluted rivers, homelessness, unaffordable housing, child poverty, climate change and inadequate wages are government responsibilities. The previous National government believed that social problems should be left for the market to solve as far as possible without government intervention. In my view, that was socially irresponsible government.
