Gisborne letters - planet before mining, health and safety an industry in NZ now

Gisborne Herald

17 Jun, 2024 05:00 PM5 mins to read

Economists and capitalist politicians seem incapable of imagining what we are doing to the planet, says Bob Hughes.

OPINION

Survival as a species before profit

Regarding “NZ must mine its way out – look at Norway”, June 15 column: Sir David Attenborough once said: “We have a finite environment – the planet. Anyone who thinks that you can have infinite growth in a finite environment is either a madman or an economist.”

In my view, economists and capitalist politicians are notably short-termist and seem incapable of imagining what we are doing to the planet.

Others understand what finite means and many realise that further damage to our precious Earth will hit hard on our young and future generations.

Our previous Labour Government recognised our dilemma by declaring a climate emergency and setting zero-carbon targets, which this present crazy, far-right coalition Government is making impossible to reach – with Shane Jones saying we must follow Norway and mine our way to the future.

Our use of fossil fuels is the main source of greenhouse gas-rising CO2 warming the planet. The latest atmospheric CO2 readings available from the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii: June 15, 2024, 427.51ppm - June 15, 2023, 424.55; a yearly increase of 2.96ppm.

A new assessment says that about 16 million years ago was the last time CO2 was consistently higher than now, at about 480ppm; and before last century, humans had never experienced levels above 300ppm.

Despite these pleas from columnist Matthew Hooton and Shane Jones to mine our way out of ruin, we should be decreasing not increasing our reliance on coal or any other fossil fuel to have any chance of survival as a species.

Bob Hughes

Grey St mobility park

Reading the article about looking at roads differently in the Gisborne Herald (November 23, 2023) led me to a Saturday morning information session outside the H.B. Williams Memorial Library. I was warmly greeted and shown the proposal for Grey St.

One key point discussed was the inclusion of mobility parks in front of Ocean Dental and across the road, in front of the i-Site – which I readily agreed with, and gave my contact details. There was no contact.

I have “given Grey St a go” several times, walking and driving. What a dangerous shambles! The Grey St brouhaha, from the numerous letter writers, is well justified.

The footpath and grass berm from Ocean Dental to the skatepark is very wide, which could all be sealed and shared use – as is the beach boardwalk. The angle parks could be reinstated and the road widened to a safe width. Just a good, cost-effective idea that will no doubt be ignored.

There is one positive in these chaotic changes; there is a mobility park. Not where it was intended, but further down Grey St – an angle park, in front of the skatepark, with only a wheelchair symbol painted on it. It needs to be painted bright blue with a yellow wheelchair symbol on it plus a sign, on a pole, to indicate it is a mobility park. There are two excellent examples of what the mobility park should look like outside the Gisborne District Council offices.

There is no mobility park outside the i-Site, as promised. Is the excuse they are now parallel parks, so not suitable? That would be incorrect, as there is a parallel mobility park outside the Salvation Army Family Store by the town clock.

After “giving Grey St a go”, that is one street through which I will not go. It is too narrow, the road bumps are too big and it is hard to see cars coming out of the parallel parks. It is totally unsafe. It used to be a pleasant drive to the beach and pools, but not any more.

Barbara N. Barwick

NZDF Steviewondering

Isn’t it high time the New Zealand Defence Force stopped trusting the tarot cards?

Following Li Qiang’s visit to whaanau in Aotearoa, an approach to the local chapter of the Christian Croquet Proletariat should seriously be considered to halt the New Zealand Defence Force’s continued Steviewondering.

Ka Taka Te Kapa.

Harawira Craig Pearless

Now its own industry

Re: “Huge feedback from public on traffic management issues” (June 13).

Unfortunately, health and safety in New Zealand has become an industry.

I recently witnessed a marker post being replaced on an open section of SH2, Gisborne. There was a pilot vehicle with flashing lights at each end of the site with a person in each vehicle. A third vehicle was at the worksite and two staff were replacing the marker post.

Multiply the cost by every marker post in New Zealand – it’s enough to make you weep.

In the Gisborne District, marker posts used to show the edges of the roadway. Nowadays, their purpose is to show the area in which the potholes are contained.

I appreciate it’s no picnic for road workers being surrounded by incompetent, impatient drivers. It begs the question, “why”?

Part of the problem stems from non-existent road policing, something the old Ministry of Transport were very good at but the police seem to ignore – until there’s an incident.

Our local roads are oozing with substandard, non-compliant vehicles that are driven around quite openly and unchallenged. This blazé attitude has been able to spill over into driving habits as a result.

I read some time ago that police were to begin monitoring and ticketing drivers speeding through road works – hmmm, certain farm animals will fly also.

Lance Stopford