Cloth nappies can help you save enough for a car, writes Nelson Lebo
It's fabulous to see the growing concerns about plastics in our oceans and in our lives.
We've just completed five years of cloth nappies (two children) and have saved thousands of disposables from landfill and saved thousands of dollars in our bank account.
In fact we've saved enough money by not buying disposable nappies to afford a good quality used car.
Little things do add up. Throwing disposable nappies away is throwing money away.
NELSON LEBO, Okoia
Mining threat to marine life
It is with deep regret that GR Scown seems to think that the ironsand miners are only going to dig up a little bit of the Taranaki Bight (July 30).
I don't call a 64 square kilometre hole small. And they are not going to put the tailings back on the bottom but over the side.
The plume will be continuous and detrimental to all marine life. There is a huge amount of sea life on the Graham Bank.
We actually carry an under water camera on our boat and go out and have a look. Life is amazing out there.
The sand will suffocate all reef life and, yes, there are many hidden reef structures out off Patea.
That's why the fishing is so good. It was our secret.
BRUCE EDWARDS, Whanganui
Satire of green radicals
In the Chronicle (July 21) there was a nice piece of satire of the green movement with "10 Ways to Save the Planet".
Even the title is a clever showing up of the often hysterical scare-mongering that detracts from the many good things the green movement attempts to do.
While offering a few sensible suggestions to camouflage the satire, such as composting, growing your own food and buying local, the piece highlights some of the simplistic, foolish and over the top slogans of the more radical greenies like "stop eating meat" and "only have one child".
Another hilarious example is the "reduce your use of fossil fuels".
The more radical greenies keep trying to make the person on the street feel guilty about driving their car to the supermarket while applauding "heroes" like actor Leonardo DiCaprio and former US President Barack Obama who fly around the world in private jets to receive awards and give talks about reducing emissions and the use of fossil fuels.
And, while trying to make someone feel guilty for using their car to go to the supermarket, these radical types don't bother to educate the supermarket goer to be aware of the footprint of some of the goods on sale there.
When you buy a tin of spaghetti that was shipped all the way to those shelves from Italy, peaches from South Africa or tomatoes from foreign countries when New Zealand has an abundance of this produce, you are not helping the planet.
So yes, there are many things we can do to take better care of our beautiful planet but thank you Wanganui Chronicle for this satire of the hysterics of the radicals.
K A BENFELL, Gonville
Blame poor housekeeping
Britt Bunkley (July 17) has formed an opinion that landlords are not keeping their tennants warm enough leading to all sorts of illness.
The important temperature is the temperature of the body, this is generally controlled by adding or removing clothing.
He also blames the energy companies for high energy costs when actually high energy costs are being foisted on us with wind and solar power, very expensive, caused by the belief in the hypothesis that the release of CO2 by burning fossil fuels is heating our planet to dangerous levels.
If this is correct we won't need heating in our homes.
All sorts of health issues are being blamed on cold houses. When the colonizers arrived in this pleasant land, Maori did not have viruses and didn't have windows or doors.
The colonizers arrived with windows and doors and millions of viruses that breed in stale air.
The moral of the story is you have to air your house winter and summer to remove the breeding ground of viruses, so don't blame the landlords and energy companies.
It's poor house keeping and the greenies pushing for expensive energy sources.
G R SCOWN, Whanganui
Keep punching Joe
Regarding the Joseph Parker vs Dillian Whyte fight I say, "punch on Joe".
At 26 you have it all in front of you and, let me tell you, Kevin Barry does love you.
Being interviewed after the fight the look on Kevin Barry's face and his speech shows he means business. Stick with this man as he will pull you through.
Come on home Joe and enjoy some family life, relax, unwind and then get ready to punch on.
As Kiwis we are all behind you so good luck with your further fights.
GARY STEWART, Foxton Beach