A dead horse

Another week, another ‘Our Roads & Transport’ supplement in all Northland newspapers. Why are they always so blue? An indication of who pays for them perhaps?

Great to see mayoral candidates acknowledging both road and rail, and several openly admitting that fluoro sticks have worked to reduce accidents in black spots. Their shyness on the subject of four lanes Whanga¯ rei to Auckland might also indicate some appreciation of Northland voters’ intelligence.

I think many people sense that Northland’s contribution to Aotearoa New Zealand’s economy simply doesn’t warrant four lanes yet, and that by the time it does, the age of the heavy truck and private motor car, travel and even tourism as we know it, may be drawing to a close.

Not so National, who persist with ‘four lanes, not sticks,’ from both Dr Shane Reti and Matt King. I guess they’re obliged to pander to their donors.

Even when NRC’s John Bain cites four lanes – way back at Puhoi to Warkworth in Auckland – there’s never any mention that each approximately 20km leg will be another toll road like the Puhoi tunnel. If it ever gets to Whanga¯ rei, the trip from Auckland will cost $20 plus in tolls. What’s more, government are obliged to maintain the old, ‘free’, poor man’s route as well, like Waiwera.

Chances are four lanes will be an election bribe from National again next year.

WALLY HICKS

Kohukohu

whose child was not immunised and died. We also have compassion for those whose baby died after their vaccination.

As there is no guarantee of safe vaccinations, because vaccinations have not been subjected to the testing which we should be able to expect as part of the protocol when medications are produced, there must never ever be compulsory vaccinations.

Whilst he states that the Vatican has problems with the use of foetal cells in some vaccinations, but has chosen to sit on the fence, some would not ever allow their child or themselves to have a vaccination with a foetal cell.

A 1991 study revealed a clear link between the popular Tdap vaccine for tetanus, diphtheria and pertussis, and microcephaly. The National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI) offered up clear evidence showing that the combination jab can cause not only brain damage in young children, but also heart problems, meningitis and epilepsy. Epidemiological evidence from human case studies showed that within weeks or even days of getting the Tdap shot, children developed infantile spasms and other common symptoms of

microcephaly directly related to the vaccine.

Earlier research in this same government report from 1987 pinpoints what scientists described as infantile spasms immediately following pertussis immunisation, caused by one of the following: a direct neurotoxic effect, an immediate immune reaction, a delayed cellular hypersensitivity reaction, a vaccine-induced activation of a latent neurotropic virus infection. We refer readers to the overview of the book

‘Adverse Effects of Pertussis and Rubella Vaccines,’ section subtitled ‘Evidence Concerning Pertussis Vaccines and Central Nervous System Disorders, Including Infantile Spasms, Hypsarrhythmia, Aseptic Meningitis, and Encephalopathy.’

We must always retain the right of choice to medicate or not. Compulsory vaccination is an abomination in a democracy.

BEVERLEY ALDRIDGE, KATHLEEN

PATTINSON Otamatea Grey Power many untruths in her regular opinion articles in the Northland Age. She has never responded back to mine or others who have disagreed and questioned what amounts to be propaganda.

Her latest, ‘Mother Nature rules our planet’ ( September 5), is another example of deception by writing a story of the occurrence of natural events in the Earth's distant past to try and make it seem there is a relationship to the events that are occurring today.

However, her interpretation of mankind's contribution to greenhouse gases is not only misleading.

Most of it is simply untrue.

Take for example her stating 97 per cent of the carbon dioxide currently in the Earth's atmosphere is from natural sources and only three per cent created from human activity.

This is hogwash. In actual fact humans have added nearly 50 per cent of the CO2 since the start of the industrial revolution, and if we continue business as usual the doubling of the amount will occur within 50 years.

Also her stating, “Altogether, the contribution of mankind to the greenhouse effect is 0.3 per cent and 99.7 per cent is natural,” is a blatant lie.

On researching it appears Muriel Newman sources her information from conservative think tanks who have been funded by the fossil fuel industry. They largely influence and control politics in the US.

It is all about protecting their business interests and wealth. They don't want to see a price put on carbon. Many millions of dollars have been spent on an ongoing campaign to disseminate disinformation.

The Bank of England's Governor, Mark Carney, in a recent interview, recognises the climate crisis, and sees capitalism as part of the solution.

The costs of ignoring climate change were rising, but he stressed there were increasing opportunities to do something about it, and that capital would shift in this direction. He warns that firms that ignore the crisis will go bankrupt, without question.

RAY PATERSON

Kaimaumau component of the imbalance that now exists between natural climate change influences and those that have been human-induced since the beginning of the industrial era.

For Muriel Newman to go back 66 million years on climate influences is irrelevant to the conversation on the current climate crisis. Newman should focus on the past 420,000 years.

I have previously reported that CSIRO climate scientist Dr David Etheridge says that analysis of ice core data shows that the ends of glacial periods were triggered by the warming effect of changes in the Earth's orbit and tilt, but it is the extra push from greenhouse gases added to the initial warming that accelerates its extent and magnitude, and leads to sometimes rapid change from one climate state to another. (Holper and Torok, 2008).

The current concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere is about 410 parts per million, which is well above the 180ppm to 300ppm over the last four glacial/ interglacial periods, as measured in Antarctic ice. Shifts within this range normally take at least 800 years. Today the concentration is about 46 per cent more, and still rising, than at any time over the past 420,000 years.

An interpretation of the Antarctic ice core data in Nature magazine of June 2004 (Vol. 429) says that the transition from glacial to interglacial conditions of the first of the periods recorded in Vostok data resembles the transition into the present interglacial period in terms of the magnitude of change in temperatures and greenhouse gases, but that there are significant differences in the patterns of change.

The interglacial period of that time was exceptionally long — 28,000 years, compared to the 12,000 years recorded so far in the present one.

Authors of the article say that given the similarities between this earlier warm period and today, the ice core results may imply that without human intervention a climate similar to that of most of the 20th Century would extend for thousands of years into the future. But it won't.

Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, human activities have caused an increase in several greenhouse gases, most notably carbon dioxide, a trend nearly all climate scientists believe is causing accelerated global warming.

I’m willing to present a badge to the proud climate science denialist, Muriel Newman, but it won’t be one with Honour associated with it.

ROSS FORBES

Kerikeri