Letters to the editor: World’s growing population needs addressing

The world's population needs addressing, a reader says. Photo / Vakhrushev

The world population recently exceeding 8 billion seems to have gone unnoticed, almost as if it is a non-event of no consequence.

But it is a far more important issue than global warming.

We are all polluters of the environment in one way or another, and more people means more demand for resources, more industry, more agriculture, more travel, and so on.

Whilst I admire and support all of the international, national and local objectives to reduce global warming, I doubt if we will ever achieve these whilst the population continues to grow.

Reducing the population simply means fewer births. There is no other acceptable way. This will inevitably spark a new battleground, coming from human rights supporters objecting to any form of birth control.

So it is a very difficult topic, and it seems that nobody wants to raise population growth to the level of importance that it deserves.

But no matter how difficult, we must bring the population down by a significant factor.

I would like to see environmentalists raising their sights above global warming and tackling population reduction.

Whilst the results might not be seen for some time, I believe their environmental efforts would be better rewarded.

Vaughan Chetwynd

Tauranga

Bunnings praised for help

Top marks to Bunnings Mount Maunganui.

When my wife sustained a leg injury from a customer’s trolley, within minutes a medic was on hand and dressed the wound, a cup of tea was offered and a wheelchair to escort her back to our vehicle.

A florist later appeared at our residence with a flower bouquet and card wishing a speedy recovery.

David Lowe

Mount Maunganui

Takitimu road should be free

I drove both to Auckland and Wellington last week.

Driving to Auckland via the 110km/h expressway, missing both Cambridge and Hamilton, was marvellous. Likewise, using Transmission Gully to enter Wellington allowed the traffic to flow smoothly.

Both expressways were toll-free, so why is Takitimu (which is only a Tauranga City internal bypass), still being tolled?

It certainly isn’t an expressway and at times you are only allowed to travel at the 1948 legal speed limit of 50m/h or 80km/h.

Come on Waka Kotahi New Zealand Transport Agency, you have punished Tauranga long enough – remove the tolls now.

Jim Sherlock

Tauranga

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