Chain doesn’t deserve plaudits

The overly publicised release of the so-called ‘‘poverty pads’’ was testimony to the sheer genius of Countdown’s corporate management and the gullibility of others.

Countdown has no genuine interest in the very women it claims to assist, other than to profit from them.

Yes, these ‘‘poverty pads’’ are cheap, but they are being sold without warning of the pesticides, herbicides, bleach and other toxic nasties contained in them. Sure, these chemicals may kill insects and make the cotton grow faster, and enable them to be ‘‘coloured’’ white, but when absorbed into the body they often cause menstruating women needless pain and discomfort.

Whilst the law lags and it’s not yet a legal requirement, it remains deplorable that Countdown’s packaging doesn’t disclose the actual contents. In my view, Countdown is being socially irresponsible.

Providing natural pads (or even blotting paper!) would’ve been a real way for Countdown to show it wants to meet the needs of its ‘‘poorer’’ customers and that it genuinely cares about these women’s health and well-being.

Matt Taylor, Waikanae [abridged]

Gender ‘balance’

Green Party minister Julie Anne Genter has inflicted on the state sector organisations a quota of ‘‘at least’’ 50 per cent female representation in the top three management positions by 2020. It seems the evil of gender disparity would not apply in a situation where women held the majority of those jobs; only when men do.

I wonder what the minister’s position would have been if a child of hers had been trapped in that cave in Thailand a couple of weeks ago. Would she have demanded ‘‘gender balance’’ in the rescue team, or would she have wanted the principle of ‘‘the best man for the job’’ to apply ?

I think we all know the answer to that.

Of course, in the cloistered environment of the public service, no such life-and-death dilemmas are ever faced. Thus it is fertile ground for social engineering to flourish.

Alison Gilbert, Newtown

Climate impacts

Jim Rose in his opinion Zerocarbon economy may not be worth the risk (July 26) selectively quotes a GDP graphic from the OECD’s The Economic Consequences of Climate Change 2015 report.

In fact, this OECD report states that the GDP losses for almost all regions, and numerous other important consequences, imply a strong call for policy action.

The report calls for ambitious policies to reduce emissions, and adaptation policies to deal with the remaining consequences – to substantially reduce the economic impacts of climate change.

The OECD also calls for more research on the damages from climate change, including triggering important tipping points, that could damage the economy in an order of magnitude even higher than modelled in its report. It states that non-market damages and policy co-benefits must be included in calculating climate policy efforts.

In other words, even on a limited GDP metric, let alone other reasons, New Zealand must urgently reduce our climate-damaging emissions to protect our economic future.

Other reasons may include last week’s news of tragic wildfire deaths and flooding evacuations – as our changing climate introduces increasingly dangerous weather extremes globally.

Liz Springford, Berhampore

Roundabouts safe

So the mayors of Carterton and Masterton want better intersections between their towns. Perhaps they are not aware of a study by the United States’ Insurance Institute for Highway Safety that found roundabouts reduce injury crashes by 75 per cent compared with intersections controlled by stop signs or signals.

Or perhaps the New York Department of Transportation report that found roundabouts were safer and more efficient than intersections. Traffic flows more smoothly at roundabouts, and vehicle emissions are less, due to less traffic idling.

Watchers of the Tour de France cycle race will note the many attractively planted roundabouts on French roads.

France has more than 30,000 roundabouts and it is enthusiastically building more every year. If safety is our goal then why are we not following the French example?

John Whitty, Aro Valley