Doubt climate change? It’s the science, stupid

HE has the most ordinary of names but that has never been prohibitive in earning the status of Otago rugby great. Think Laurie, Kevin, David, Josh, Jeff — and now Ben.

From unheralded beginnings as a wiry utility back to a blossoming as the best fullback in the rugby world, Ben Smith’s journey was a classic tale of the southern boy made good.

Confirmation of his departure to France after the 2019 season was not unexpected but still a sad moment for those who have treasured his immense contribution to Otago, Highlanders and All Blacks rugby.

What has made him such a beloved figure in the South? There are a variety of factors, which combined put him in the discussion for the greatest BILL McKibben has written a disturbing article for The New Yorker

(26.11.18). It links this year’s recordbreaking extreme weather events to predictions made by climate scientists over 30 years. While adequate responses are being ignored, damage continues at a greater than predicted rate. How should we respond?

Do we follow the advice of the overwhelming majority of scientists, people who have systematically studied what affects the world’s climate, put a man on the moon, and landed a spacecraft on an asteroid; of David Attenborough, Stephen Hawking, leading medical authorities and many others who have devoted their lives to understanding and improving our physical environment?

Or do we follow the advice of Donald Trump and his associates, backed by the fossil fuel and mining industries and many billionaire tax dodgers? Their current response mimics that of the tobacco and asbestos industries in the past. The odds are much greater now.

Who has the greater credibility? We need to consider our sources of evidence. Our offspring will inherit the planet we leave for them.

Gil Barbezat

Roslyn

Bond’s boozing

I WAS somewhat amused at the article about James Bond (ODT, 10.12.18). Mainly, it concerned James’ tendency to consume vast amounts of alcohol and the antics he got up to after doing so. What concerns me, though, is the fact that the Bond books and movies are fictional (written for amusement) and shouldn’t be deconstructed to prove that alcohol is bad when it is not consumed sensibly. We already know that from all the ads in the media.

For Prof Nick Wilson to spend all his time reading all, or some, of the Bond books and watching endless Bond movies and then writing the article is a waste of our university’s time and the New Zealand tax payer’s money. To get awarded joint first player in the history of

Otago rugby. He was one of us. A kid from King’s High School. A member of the bluecollar Green Island club. An ordinary bloke — the ‘‘Ben From Accounts’’ nickname coined by the Alternative Commentary Collective was entirely apt.

Elite sportspeople have a prize in the Medical Journal of Australia shows what is more important than real medicine. Maybe Prof Wilson should spend some time at a few CADS or AA meetings and he’ll see we have a real problem with alcohol and drugs, instead of reading books or watching movies about the subject.

Euthanasia

Max McMeeking

Andersons Bay BOTH R. Wells and Di Cooper resort to the usual tactics of the proeuthanasia lobby in making personal attacks on Mr Dawson following his opinion piece opposing euthanasia.

This is what people do when they have run out of cogent arguments.

It is also highly ironic that Mr

Wells’ letter should attempt to belittle the wellsubstantiated case against euthanasia by misrepresenting it as ‘‘scare tactics’’. In fact, the campaign in favour of euthanasia and assisted suicide is based almost entirely on scare tactics.

Exceptional cases of individual situations — many of them occurring well before many of the recent advances in palliative care — are trotted out routinely with the express purpose of causing Kiwis as much anxiety as possible.

And the ‘‘checks and balances’’ which Mr Wells touts to try to allay our fears are likely not to be worth the paper they are written on. With many key terms — such as ‘‘grievous and irremediable condition’’ — not defined in the Bill, there could be no certainty of any measure of public safety.

Finally, Mr Wells muddies the waters even further by referring to the role of a ‘‘living will’’, although he must know that nowhere is this mentioned in the Seymour Bill.

Kathy McLauchlan

Auckland ...................................

BIBLE READING: In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins . . . — Ephesians 1:7. tendency to live in a bubble, as the demands of their profession and the impossibility of staying anonymous make a regular lifestyle problematic, but you never got the sense Smith, even when he became a star All Black, had his head turned by the trappings of wealth and fame.

Humble to the core, he always looked slightly embarrassed to be elevated to the status of a rugby hero, even as he racked up test caps (76) for the All Blacks, Super rugby appearances (a record 144) for the Highlanders, and provincial games (44) for his beloved Otago.

Loyalty was another factor in the Ben Smith story. At a time when schoolboy poaching is topical, and rugby players change clubs like they are playing golf, Smith is a oneschool, oneclub, oneprovince and onefranchise stalwart. If it