Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, speaking at a global investors' meet in Dharmsala on November 7. AP Photo / Ashwini Bhatia
There have been muttering lately about India not signing up for the Paris climate accord. What Prime Minister Modi said was that his first priority was to lift his people out of poverty, which will take a huge amount of energy. He further said that, when the West
and India had the same per-capita emission levels, then they could talk about it. In these days of liberality and equality, why is that an unreasonable position to take?
Indians, and indeed most of the developing world, are insufficiently stupid to believe that sunbeams and gentle breezes will provide enough reliable electricity. Although India is installing copious amounts of wind and solar, they are actually relying on increasing their nuclear power plants and developing their own thorium reactors.
The developing world is on the march.
G N Kendall, Rothesay Bay.
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I was horrified to read (NZ Herald, November 11) of the removal of 345 exotic trees from Mt Albert.
Should they be there? Probably not. Should they be removed and replaced with natives? Probably. But not all at once, they have been there for a large number of years and birds and insects etc have made their homes in them.
Do it gradually and give the wildlife a chance to relocate. The Tupuna Maunga Authority is concerned about restoring the tupuna maunga to their original state but what about our native birds that will be displaced? Birds are unable to build nests in seedling trees. I have seen the distress of birds when they come to roost in a tree that has been chopped down. It is heartbreaking to watch.
Julie Pearce, Matamata.
The name Tupuna Maunga Authority is, in itself, confrontational.
Why is the adversarial word "authority" (Oxford dictionary meaning "the power or right to enforce obedience") included with two beautiful Māori words (Tupuna and Maunga)?
Inclusive words such as "guardian" or "kaitiaki" would have encouraged communities to work together for common good outcomes, rather than the "authority" ruling with an iron fist?
If you want people on board, include them.
Véronique Cornille, Devonport.
There has been a growing movement in Auckland to eliminate exotic trees and replace them with natives. We are a culturally diverse city and exotic trees reflect our growing cultural richness.
There is a reason why people flock to Cornwall Park; in spring to see the cherry blossoms and in autumn to see the beautiful colours of deciduous trees.
Mt Albert resident Graham Davison is correct when he says exotic trees have spiritual significance and he sees no need to remove all exotic species.
Many native trees are not suited to a city environment, where they are affected by fumes and strong light and tend to thrive only in forested areas.
Exotics add dappled light and softness to an otherwise concrete desert.
They signal the start of spring and autumn with their magnificent burst of colour.
Native and exotic trees can live in harmony. The obsession for planting only natives should be balanced by the need to cater to those who enjoy the variety of exotics and those who have a deep connection to the trees of their heritage.
Annette Perjanik, Mt Roskill.
When I lived in the US, a local neighbour, a professor, came back from a stint in England. He said, with surprise, "unarmed police practice unilateral disarmament - and it works".
Please don't let us send armed police to South Auckland. It would be a disaster.
Diane Percy, Sandringham.
It was not until 1835 that Mary Bumby brought the first honey bees to New Zealand; their longer tongues were best to pollinate European crops. Until then we had no honey. For some factions to claim it's part of their heritage is a bit strong.
All honey has some medicinal properties to varying degrees, that I'm aware of. Then German as well as New Zealand scientist discover methyglyoxal, the UMF (unique manuka factor). Although manuka does have health-giving properties, it, like many natural cures for everything, has been embellished beyond its capabilities by the marketers.
End result is high prices followed by greed, hence disputes we have with other producers here and overseas.
R L Bicker, Gulf Harbour.
Our new political party, Sustainable NZ, is aiming to split the environmentalist camp, and drag the party vote for the Greens down below the 5 per cent threshold.
National-Act should be able to govern alone after the 2020 election, so hang in there, Simon.
Arch Thomson, Mt Wellington.
Dara McNaught wrote a good article about superannuitants' poverty (NZ Herald, November 7) and it's so very true.
I receive $840 per fortnight and my household bills are sometimes $900 per fortnight. No mortgage luckily, my food gets paid by credit card and Farmers card, and gets paid back from my pension, I seem to be going around in circles.
I have a fireplace and get free wood, I make sure I keep warm and eat well too, but I have nothing left to go anywhere.
Thank heavens I have a computer, garden and good health at 76.
Jude Luttrell, Papatoetoe.
As Dr Patrick Carvalho writes (NZ Herald, November 7), chronic road congestion is taking a costly toll on the mobility of goods, services and people.
Congratulations therefore to Minister Julie Anne Genter, who on her first day in office cancelled the already approved East-West Motorway Link, so adding worsening costly congestion to Auckland's Southern Motorway.
To encourage walking and cycling, she has now cancelled the second tunnel to relieve roadway congestion to Wellington Airport.
Why do we tolerate such inane Green-inspired nonsense?
Hylton Le Grice, Remuera.
Am I the only who is irritated by weather reports and forecasters referring to speed in terms of "ks"?
I realise that "kilometres per hour" is more of a mouthful than the "miles an hour" in the old imperial days, but couldn't broadcasters simply say "kph"?
It would be so much quicker and much less irritating to this old pedant
Martin Hanson, Nelson.
Editor's note: The forecasters may also be referring to knots.
I notice, bemused, that Matthew Hooton, "Act leader carries the flag for freedom" (NZ Herald, November 8), is continuing the Bolshevik Party's greatest propaganda success, that they alone were the only true socialists, "Increasing numbers of left-wing activists, with no memory of the Berlin Wall ..."
How submitting to an opponent's rigid definitions without undertaking the bare minimum of due diligence in investigating those definitions and the history behind them, is of any service to freedom of thought at the bare minimum, I'll never know. But then I'm not angling to become an ACT MP.
It might well surprise him to know that the British wallpaper designer and writer William Morris was a socialist. It might well surprise him to learn that much of what passes as liberty in Western political culture was the result of socialist labour and social law
reform.
Nor should it come as any surprise to him that what drives many of these young leftist activists is the way liberalisation has been used to prop up corrupt business practices. After hearing day-in-day-out about the immorality of subsidies, and how government shouldn't pick winners, etc, we were then subjected to an endless round of businesses demanding taxpayer and ratepayer subsidies - and tax cuts, for themselves only, of course.
If the right-wing is worried about the younger generation becoming left-wing, they should console themselves with the thought that it's all self-inflicted.
Wesley Parish, Tauranga.
Should Chloe Swarbrick find the novelty of "okay, boomer" wearing thin, she could always get in touch with that other young protester of yore, the current mayor of Invercargill and ask if she can resurrect his rallying cry of "don't trust anyone over 30".
It got our Mayor Tim a lot of publicity 50 odd years ago.
John Capener, Kawerau.
Last Friday, you published my letter (NZ Herald, November 8) about my futile attempts to book a ticket for the walk through the CRL tunnels on Sunday, November 17.
The day before, I received an email from the booking agency to say that my booking had been successful. I now have a ticket.
This booking agency, too, works in mysterious ways.
Philip N Rama, Auckland Central.
On Santa
Whatever happened to that other Farmers icon Hector The Parrot? Milton Wong, St Heliers.
On Swarbrick
Whatever, millennial. Mike Wagg, Freemans Bay.
On vaccines
Does the Green Party have a official policy on MMR and all vaccinations for the prevention of dreadful childhood inflictions on the innocent? Ross Harvey, Remuera.
On Wilson
Simon Wilson hit so many nails on the head with his article on Chris(topher) Luxon (NZ Herald, November 8). He missed his vocation as a skilled carpenter. John O'Neill, Dargaville.
On fires
Is the firefighters union now saying that the first vehicle to arrive at a fire, will be a fire engine and the second needs to be a portaloo? Mike Baker, Tauranga.
On cancer
I have just been advised by a colleague that disposable colonoscopies can be purchased for under $100. In outback Australia many GPs are trained in colonoscopy - why not do it here? Andrew Montgomery, Remuera.
On trees
Birds do not care if trees are "native" – they are habitat, food, shelter, essential to life. Maxine Cross, Royal Oak.
On fireworks
It appears it was easier for our country to become nuclear-free than it will be for us to become fireworks-free. Matt Elliott, Birkdale.
'We now have the internet!'