Letters: Voters to blame for reps, Food for thought, Sensationalism

Carbon in the atmosphere. Photo / File

Voters to blame for reps
I accept the invitation from J M J Morris (Wanganui Chronicle, July 4) and observe that in 2000, as a ratepayer in the Rodney District Council, I was delighted when - following a Ministerial Review Authority finding the Council was dysfunctional - the Minister of Local Government, Sandra Lee, appointed a commission to replace the mayor and councillors of the Rodney District Council.

The commission comprised one man, Grant Kirby, an Auckland-based local government specialist.

Grant Kirby took on the political, administrative and legal roles of the councillors and, in my view, did an excellent job of bringing the council back to "living within its means and restricting expenditure to core activities".

It was my, and many others', wish that he remain in the role but it was not to be, and another set of mayor and councillors was elected.

It is now history that, as a number of them were those previous councillors Grant had replaced, within one term of office the council was well on its way back to the bad old ways.

Rodney District Council's problems were finally resolved by yet another government intervention, but as it was the formation of the the Super City, Auckland City Council, another can of worms was opened.

The moral from this is that the voter is ultimately to blame by not learning from history and continuing to elect entirely unsuitable candidates to these offices.

V W Ballance
Westmere

Food for thought
Regarding Dave Hill's opinion piece in the Chronicle last week that denies carbon-based climate change, perhaps some thought experiments could clarify?

We have heard a lot about the irrefutable evidence of increased carbon in the atmosphere, with radiocarbon isotopes of carbon dioxide (only formed by fossil fuels).

We know solar activity has nothing to do with it. The sun's energy has decreased since the 1980s but the Earth is warming faster than before and the oceans warming 13 per cent faster than thought.

Heat records have been set in past years with all-time heat records set all over the world during the past week alone.

We know surveys of the peer-reviewed scientific literature and the opinions of experts consistently show between 97 per cent and 98 per cent consensus that humans are causing global warming.

Okay, the thought experiment ... Let's say - for the sake of argument - we have fewer scientists on board, perhaps 70 per cent (this was the percentage in a 2012 survey by the conservative American Meteorological Society whose membership includes some peer-reviewed scientists but also many less qualified people, including 10 per cent who are smiling TV weather presenters).

We then extrapolate that to a rogue asteroid hurling towards the Earth, so 70 per cent of scientists say it will hit and cause irreparable damage to Earth within several years. But we can send up a spaceship to save the planet, or we can sit by and let it wipe out civilisation.

Meanwhile the fiendish "It's a Beautiful Star! Lobby" (who discovered how to mine space oil on the asteroid) are trying to confuse the public. They have 10 per cent of scientists in their pockets and 20 per cent "just don't know".

OMG, should we send Bruce Willis in a spaceship to stop it … or listen to the MAGA ("Make Androids Great Again") supporters?

I think that most would agree we should go with Bruce. It may be too late for the sequel.

Brit Bunkley
Whanganui

Sensationalism
When Michael Laws was mayor, he tried to bring in a law to ban gang patches in the main street.

It failed, but the rest of New Zealand was left believing we had a large gang problem. This was, of course, totally incorrect.

After many years, we have finally rid ourselves of that stigma.

And then what happens? Tuesday, June 26 Chronicle has a headline "Gang violence up".

A very bad, very sensational article, which is not even to do with just Wanganui.

I found it amazing when the paper sensationalised a funeral of a gang member in the city, and yet good, hard-working people who have given thousands of volunteer hours to this city often never get a mention (let alone a raft of photos).

Wanganui is going really well - population on the increase, lots of building, new businesses and all looking rosy. Keep producing this sort of rubbish journalism, Wanganui Chronicle, and you will put us back where we were 10 years ago.

We will not even need a newspaper then, will we?

Kevin O'Sullivan
Parkdale

Dental health
C Price (letters; June 26) trusts the authorities to be right, contrary to the reality that medical science and dental associations have historically made errors, endorsing smoking, asbestos, lead, BPA, mercury, thalidomide etc.

It goes against logic that fluorosis is "not undesirable", as does Price's other claim that mild fluorosis makes teeth more decay-resistant.

Tooth decay is a disease of poor nutrition and high fluoride. Based on 30 years of study on 400,000 children, Teotia and Teotia report: "Our findings indicate that dental caries was caused by high fluoride and low dietary calcium intakes, separately and through their interactions." (Edited)

Rick Baum
Whanganui

Winter payment
In what seems to be a colder winter than usual, it is great the Government has decided to make the Winter Energy Payment available.

It will be easier for many people to keep their homes (and themselves) warmer during the rest of the cold period. The cost of electricity is a worry for many and this will make it easier for them.

I also appreciate the pleasant and helpful letter which arrived telling me about the payment and all the advice on the second page about contacting Work and Income.

J Labrum
Whanganui