The Bay of Plenty Times welcomes letters and comments from readers. Below you can read the letters we have published in your newspaper today.
TODAY'S LETTERS:
Mangroves a natural nurse crop in estuaries
Re: Richard Prince (Letters, Bay of Plenty Times, May 7) comparing mangroves with gorse - I totally agree.
Gorse is a wonderful nurse crop for native forest revegetation. It fertilises the soil by fixing nitrogen, has dense prickly growth which protects growing plants and simply dies and decomposes to compost after it is shaded.
Mangroves function similarly for marine estuarine life.
They require a specific salinity and maximum water depth, and grow on estuarine margins where they trap fine sediments that would otherwise degrade water clarity.
Their roots provide an excellent breeding habitat for marine organisms, many of which begin the ocean food chains.
Once the estuary has infilled, the mangroves die.
Nothing is static in nature. No matter how frequently mangroves are cleared, they will return as nature hates a vacuum and there will always be a seed source coming on the next tide.
In future, Welcome Bay will quite possibly be subdivided as the estuary infills (eg, lower Wairoa River subdivisions).
Mangroves are a tropical plant and Tauranga is near the southern end of its range. If you want mangrove-free estuaries, Richard, head south.
Meanwhile, I'll watch this uncontrolled experiment with interest.
Alan Willoughby, Welcome Bay
Required reading
I am really excited to hear that a New Zealand actor - Grant Bowler - has one of the lead roles in the Atlas Shrugged movie that has just premiered in the United States.
Atlas Shrugged is, of course, the best-selling book (more than 7 million copies) by philosopher Ayn Rand.
If there ever was a movie to be made compulsory in schools, council chambers and government offices around the country, it should be this.
Forget Al Gore's creative fairytales about global warming and movies by Michael Moore.
Unfortunately the concepts illustrated in this movie will go over the heads of a population steeped in state and council dependency, and will be like playing War and Peace to kindergarten children.
But if it teaches just one person the meaning of the words "property rights" and "personal responsibility", our country will be better off.
Atlas Shrugged is a life-altering read, and I urge everybody to go and check it out.
(Abridged.)
Graham Clark, Lower Kaimai
Trees for shade
Re: Trees to be planted in Mount Maunganui (News, April 24).
Tauranga dermatologist Paul Salmon has kindly donated pohutukawa trees to Tauranga City Council.
The trees will provide shade for people to sit under, which will help reduce skin cancer.
To be effective in providing shade, the trees need to be planted where people will sit under them.
Council's plan for planting the donated trees includes the grass verges in Valley Rd, Ranch Rd and Bain St.
The only things that will get shade from these trees will be vehicles.
Why aren't the trees being planted where people will actually sit under them and benefit from the shade, like parks and beach-front areas?
Shelley Kerr, Mount Maunganui
Costly schemes
Re: Waterfront overhaul seen as key by action group (News, May 10). The City Centre Action Group want a "strong commercial focus into plans to redevelop the waterfront carpark".
Do they want to eventually introduce shop and office complexes on to the waterfront carpark? Why desecrate such a wonderful site and block a brilliant outlook across the harbour with commercial buildings?
I am fully behind the TCC's largely passive vision for the waterfront on this one.
I have no problem with markets in this area but what are the other events and activities envisaged by this group?
Why does Priority One want another convention centre alongside Baycourt when there is already one being built alongside the stadium, which has yet to be proven commercially viable?
Why should TCC (ratepayers) contribute up to $200,000 towards a stage-two business case for this?
If the action group wants to go ahead with stage two, then they should pay for it.
Groups like this seem to think that TCC (ratepayers) will continue to pay for these extravagant schemes endlessly. Everyone else is having to tighten their belts - so should the action group, and put these costly and doubtful ideas on hold until the economy improves.
(Abridged.)
Roger Bailey, Papamoa Beach
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