No plan B
Well done, Chronicle, December 4. When will the world wake up to "No Plan B"?
Get out of your own heads and look at what you are creating for generations to come.
If even a part of the individual time and effort devoted to our emotional well-being was put into the well-being of our whole community, then the flow-on effect would be a better environment for all.
In a world obsessed with hyperconsumerism (David Suzuki — Suzuki Speaks) our need for material things is driving us to the brink of our own extinction. And when more, more, more is not enough, we discard those things that we no longer "need"and replace them with something else. The more we discard the more we are destroying the planet, our only home.
It is no longer OK to say, "I am only one person. What can I do?" Donald Trump is only one person and look what he is able to do. Yes, he may have power and wealth but he is still only one man.
By presiding over the shift placing climate change scepticism in the GOP's mainstream thinking he is implying that there is no issue to be addressed.
Encourage our government to be stronger in our opposition to his political leanings on this matter. We may be a tiny nation but we are a voice that is heard.
JANINE DELANEY
Castlecliff
We saw it coming
The recent spate of vandalism and crime is, to me, like the escalating climate change problem. We've all known for a long time it was going to happen and we've all done very little to stop it.
The big problem in our city is our terrible rate of bad parenting, abuse and neglect of children and the influence of gangs on our young.
If the gang members themselves would accept responsibility, they could be a terrific source for good in their communities, and help stop the tide of damaged and damaging children who haven't had a chance and won't otherwise get one.
J HANNAY
Whanganui
Disposal costs rise
As a confirmed resident of Whanganui, albeit for the relatively short period of slightly over four years, I find myself yet again commenting on what has become a major issue both here and elsewhere nationwide: the ongoing disposal of rubbish and how it best can be managed.
It appears the council's answer to what is undoubtedly a growing problem, not only here in Whanganui, but also nationwide, is to make it more expensive, firstly by increasing the costs of the Liffiton St Transfer Station, along with the obvious push to phase out what for an awful lot of Whanganui residents the most affordable option, the yellow-stickered plastic bag.
Single-use bags are being phased out in our supermarkets, and how long before rubbish bags go the same way? We are told plastic wheelie bins are the way of the future, and — like it or not, and a lot of us don't — we will soon be forced to pay the much higher cost, at least $7 a week, as opposed to the under $2 every three weeks myself, my partner, and a lot of other people we know currently pay to have our rubbish removed, mostly because we recycle as much as we can.
In the not-so-distant past, where the council of Papakura, as I'm told was the case here, would deliver 52 paper Kleensak rubbish bags to every household, something that was built into the rates. To me, this is a much better and cheaper option, and will go a long way to negate what I fear will be even more illegal dumping of rubbish around our town, something that is sadly on the increase. The old adage "work smarter, not hArder" seems to apply well in this situation.
ROD ANDERSON
Castlecliff
Editor's note: Kerbside rubbish collection and disposal are currently performed by a commercial operator, not the council.
Send your letters to: The Editor, Whanganui Chronicle, 100 Guyton St, PO Box 433, Whanganui 4500; or email editor@wanganuichronicle.co.nz
