Plenty of small things can be done for climate

THE recent climate change rally by so many young people was commendable and highlights a growing awareness of the problem we all will have to face in the future.

It was distressing to hear very young voices say they have no future in this world, and with the backdrop of Mental Health Awareness Week, this is a real cause for concern for parents, caregivers, teachers and the wider support networks.

The irony is that this generation are the largest consumers of technology, designer labels, fast food and many other products that play a large part in the climate debate.

Perhaps a more positive course of action may include growing a vegetable garden at home, riding a bike to school, making a lunch and taking it from home, establishing a tree nursery in every school and planting out the seedlings into selected public areas, and taking responsibility for a wetland or stream to ensure it is kept in pristine condition for future generations.

Those small steps create the momentum for generational change that will impact on our lives in the future. B. Walker Queenstown

IF we burn all the fossil fuel we know about, the sea level will rise 60m. Not in the lifetime of Catherine Brown’s grandchildren, of course (Letters, 3.10.19), so they need not be frightened of that.

But we are well on the way to 1m or more in their lifetime, and a great deal more wild weather. It may not be a ‘‘climate emergency’’ for us oldies, but it is most certainly for them, because our waffle and pious talk isn’t going to cut emissions to net zero by 2050. Dennis Horne

Howick