Sorrow over Syria

The gassing of innocent civilians in Syria is abhorrent; so, too, the incessant bombing (“Where angels fear”, April 22). As to who is responsible, we may never know.

The US – itself responsible for exposing Marshall Islanders to radiation during hydrogen-bomb testing and the Vietnamese to Agent Orange – claims the moral high ground by denouncing the Assad regime and Russia for these crimes. But how can we be sure they are the culprits? It depends on whose propaganda one believes.

In a different world, the leaders and surrogates of the superpowers could justifiably be charged with crimes against humanity. But where is the international body to bring them to account? As David Lange once suggested, international law is what these powers choose it to be. Michael Barnett (Wellington) head-in-the-sand stance of the National Government on this problem will now change.

From John Key’s interview in the UK in 2013, when he was challenged over New Zealand’s claim to be “100% Pure”, to the lukewarm response in 2015 to the water-quality report of the Parliamentary Commissioner for the Environment, the Government has failed to deal with this serious environmental problem. Let’s hope that Key’s successor, Bill English, is prepared to act. Warren Jowett (Kew, Dunedin)

ENVIRONMENTAL UPHEAVAL

Events of the past 12 months have shown the consequences of torrential rain, coastal erosion and earthquakes. They have demonstrated the risks of living on a flood plain or by the beach, at the top or bottom of a cliff, and on a moderate to steep slope.

To help people make better decisions about where to live and establish businesses, a greater awareness of local geography would be helpful. Schools would be one place where children and their parents could be exposed to useful and practical information.

Geography classes should include relevant information on how severe weather events and earthquakes shape our landscape. From an educational point of view, New Zealand is fortunate that many aspects of geography are clearly illustrated in our landscape. It is time to make people aware of the lessons that they can learn by observing the landscape where they live. Nicholas Martin (Mt Wellington, Auckland) Anyone who says there are no victims of climate change is talking a load of twaddle. Just ask the victims of the recent floods.

Climate change has made the size and frequency of storms more unpredictable. Helped by deforestation of catchment areas, a “500-year” flood can occur next month or next year, unlike creeping sea-level rise.

Protection of flood plains is urgently needed. Max Watkins (Beach Haven, Auckland)

HIRE EDUCATION

The editorial on tertiary education (“Failing by degrees”,

April 15) deserved a better response than the “physician, heal thyself’ remark of one correspondent ( Letters, April 22).

We should be concerned about the reorientation of the tertiary sector primarily to meet business needs and export earnings. Ignored are the requirements for educating citizens, cultural resilience

and instilling broad-based knowledge.

The Tertiary Education Commission has repeatedly stressed productivity as its main goal, and when he was Minister of Tertiary Education, Steven Joyce’s funding focus was on science, engineering and technology. His successor, Paul Goldsmith, has yet to make any significant policy changes.

What should a citizen know to make good decisions about local, national and international issues? What should students learn about civic responsibility and global citizenship? If the Listener could follow up its thought-provoking editorial by reporting on what an educational system intended to produce civicminded social entrepreneurs should provide, it would be doing a major service. Dolores Janiewski (Highbury, Wellington)

OLD-SCHOOL ATTITUDES

The sad news of John Clarke’s