Letters: Hard water is better for you

Coast off Patea were seabed iron sand mining may take place. PHOTO/BEVAN CONLEY

Hard water
I was intrigued by Jin White's suggestion that hard water is unsafe as I always believed the opposite so I read the quoted article in the International Journal of Preventive Medicine. The link is https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3775162/

The article certainly has the quote that Jim supplied in its introduction but goes on later to suggest that the relationship is likely an inverse relationship. That is the harder the water the less cardiovascular disease. The other points mentioned in the quote were not considered significant enough to be referred to in the conclusion. It even suggests that hardness should be reintroduced where the minerals have been removed.

"Hardness is important for drinking-water from the point of view of both aesthetic acceptability and operational considerations. Although, there is some evidence from epidemiological studies for a protective effect of magnesium or hardness on cardiovascular mortality, the evidence is being debated and does not prove causality.

Further studies are being conducted. In spite of this, drinking-water may be a source of calcium and magnesium in the diet and could be important for those who are marginal for calcium and magnesium intake. Where drinking-water supplies are supplemented with or replaced by dematerialised water that requires conditioning, consideration should be given to adding calcium and magnesium salts to achieve concentrations similar to those that the population received from the original supply."
Robert Lakeland
WHANGANUI

Firearms license
I have some sympathy for John Thurlow bemoaning paying for a 10-year Firearms Licence ($126.50) as I recall my first firearms licence was a lifetime licence, even although it was for the firearm, not me. I would have had more sympathy for him had he not omitted relevant facts, especially as the topic of ownership and use of firearms in New Zealand is such an emotive subject with many.

He made no mention that the fee includes a police interview with his wife or relative and a non-related person over 20 years of age who knows John well, to obtain their opinion on John's suitability to own and use firearms. They also visit his home and inspect the arrangements he has made for the safe and secure storage of the firearms. Finally, they also require him to pass a small 10 question test to demonstrate that he has not, over the last 10 years, forgotten the important safety requirements of firearms ownership and use.

All being found satisfactory, the police then issue him with a nice little identity card (firearms licence) which displays more evidence of John's character than the current de facto identity card, a drivers licence. All this for $126.50 a year which to me doesn't sound too expensive.
VW Ballance
WESTMERE

Marine sanctuary
A marine mammal sanctuary is being proposed for our local ocean waters, a serious attempt, not to protect the mammals, just an attempt to stop sand mining and seimic surveying. Forest and Bird advocate Anton Van Helden has jumped out of the trees and poked his nose into our ocean and seen the whales and dolphins being disturbed by noise, no proof needed just what his nose knows. During the war depth charges did not scare off the sharks, just told them where the food was.

These people don't care about humans because they are prepared to scupper the economy to get their way. Tsunamis are caused by huge explosions of power which wreck swaths of ocean floor, it rehabilitates itself without the protection of these worriers. Sand mining is going to be done in a very small area at any one time, the fishes and the ocean will handle it and after thirty five years we will have this bay made much more fertile, that's what happens when you remove the iron. Things grow on it much, much better, but you with such great knowledge don't know this because it does not suit your argument.
G R Scown
WHANGANUI

Parliamentary prayer
Ken Orr wrote an interesting piece on the Parliamentary prayer for the opinion page in the Chronicle (December 5 2017) in which he states that, "Since our nation's founding in 1850, our people have never been subject to invasion by a foreign enemy." Say what?

Have we already forgotten the land wars? Very few of the members of the forces which attacked Maaori in those dark days were NZ born. Except of course those Kupapa (Maaori who fought for the government). So the majority of those who invaded Taranaki and carried out the "scorched earth" attacks on my ancestors were foreigners, were they not? And mercenaries to boot. As were Vontemsky and the infamous G A Custer who hightailed it back to the America after the Maaori victory at Te Ngutu o Te Manu.

So let's learn and remember the real history of this land. We could make some great movies.
Potonga Neilson
CASTLECLIFF