How to put drone fans off spying
On reading the story of the mother and daughter being buzzed by a drone in Auckland, I thought it a pity they didn't live in the country and have husbands who were keen hunters or duck shooters.
A double-barrel 12-gauge could make short work of one of these annoying toys being used to spy on private properties. We had one here recently that came down on a house and put two holes in the roof.
Possibly the galahs who fly them in these circumstances should cop the same treatment as the idiots who shine lasers at planes — 14 years in a cell should make them think twice about it.
John Rack, Waiuku. That New Zealand’s fertility rate at 1.8 per woman is the lowest since records began in the 1920s must give us all concern. With increasing longevity and increasing resthome care demands, the question in the future must be, “Who is going to provide the required services?”
New Zealand is fortunate in that many people want to come and live here, and it is apparent that migrants are providing an increasing proportion of hospital, medical service and rest-home workers. But what of the future?
We can see a glimmer of hope in that capable, high-profile women, such as the Prime Minister and Julie Anne Genter, Minister for Women, have announced pregnancies. This may inspire other young career-minded women to procreate for the benefit of the nation. Let’s hope it comes to pass and we will rely on our own resources in future.
Ivan Erceg, Te Atatu Peninsula. Dr Jim Salinger’s heartfelt letter to his grandchildren on Tuesday contained a plea to our Government to take stronger action on “human-driven climate change”.
As a climate scientist, Salinger will be aware that modern warming of a little under 1C commenced at the end of a cool period (“little ice age”) about 150 years ago.
He would be aware also we have had warmer periods than now in the past 14,000 years, since the end of the last major ice age. These periods did not correlate with atmospheric CO2 levels, suggesting other factors drove past change. “Unusual” weather events are also well-recorded in the distant past by geological and other proxies.
Frequent alarmist claims of record high temperatures should also be reported more carefully and in the context of natural events, such as El Nino, superimposed on our modern warming.
The question that needs to be addressed, objectively and before any rash decisions, is the extent to which significant industrial-era CO2 emissions commencing in the 1940s, which constitute a small percentage of total atmospheric greenhouse gases, have affected natural climate variability.
A. Climie, Whangarei. Instead of pointing the finger at Countdown and others at what they do or don't do, learn to look at what part you played in it.
Are you another of those who don't take reusable bags to do the shopping? Before plastic bags, we all took bags when going to shop. It is easy to keep them in the car or sling one over your shoulder when walking out the door.
Come on everyone, before we leave our oceans and land for the following generations to wonder what dirty, lazy people their parents and grandparents were, do your part now, not wait for others to do theirs. Elizabeth Jones, Whitianga.