Look at the Facts
Do we really have a climate emergency? Let us look at the facts.
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CO2 has risen 100 parts per million in the last 100 years - that's one in 10,000.
Is it likely that that will cause a climate emergency? I think it's unlikely.
Fossil fuels will eventually be fazed out when technology permits. In the meantime, why would you wreck the economy by not exporting coal, close down coal-fired power stations and contribute to putting up power prices?
The climate may be changing but it's not consistent. At the moment Australia's climate is warmer and dryer than usual.
Meanwhile, winter in North America has been colder and wetter than average.
So, it seems unlikely that a rise in one in 10,000 parts of CO2 would be a major factor in both these events.
In summary, it is time we stop using inflammatory terms like emergency and crisis and let the government govern.
Robert French, Hagley.
Fearmongering Talk
Dr Goldsteen (The Examiner, May 17) has hit the nail on the head. It is extremely unlikely human activity has any influence on climate change.
Climate change is a very real phenomena but the cause has nothing to do with human activity. Changing climate conditions on earth are the result of energy flows within the Milky Way galaxy.
Those energy forces far exceed anything that could be contrived by human activity, because all the energy available within planet earth amounts to nothing more than a drop in the ocean when compared to the vast energy forces moving through the galaxy.
However, it is those forces that cause changing activity within the sun, which in turn influences conditions on earth.
It is fanciful arrogance in the extreme to think that any form of human activity could override the natural energy forces that flow through the galaxy.
The burning of fossil fuels is a major source of world-wide pollution and deserves to be addressed with strong policies, along with changed practices and technology.
It is quite feasible to generate electricity and power vehicles without burning fossil fuels.
Such changes to our technology would have a major impact on reducing pollution.
But to suggest it would influence climate change is wildly fanciful and amounts to nothing more than fearmongering at its very worst.
Max Burr, Scottsdale.
City Mission Breakfast
City Mission is a wonderful organisation helping constantly the less fortunate.
Every weekday they provide free breakfast - cereals, toast, hot drinks - and once a month a hot breakfast for a small charge. As a volunteer, I undertook the task of calling on the Launceston business houses to assist in making it free. About $100 monthly was City Mission's costs and in the shortest time possible it was accommodated with donations covering years.
It was the most humbling result imaginable, kindness in buckets. These struggling people find every day a huge challenge in managing the cost of living, and a hot breakfast is a great start. City Mission does not judge, ask questions or turn people away they just serve and care. Thanks to Launceston's business houses, a talented chef and enthusiastic caring volunteers they will enjoy a free hot breakfast for a long time.
Peter Doddy, Trevallyn.
Lost the Plot
THE University of Tasmania seems to have lost the plot and is doing very unwise things.
I am so glad that someone of the status of Lionel Morrell has expressed concerns about flooding in relation to the proposed relocation of the University to the cramped Inveresk site. According to a very serious article (The Examiner, May 23), within 83 years the whole area will be underwater due to sea level rise.
The spacious elevated Newnham site will not be affected. Furthermore, the university has been criticised adversely on Four Corners for accepting overseas students with lower than acceptable levels of English. This is a very serious matter.
Then there is the plan to move from the Sandy Bay Campus, one of the most beautiful sites for a university in the world, into Hobart's tiny and already cramped CBD.
I am greatly concerned almost upset by the situation within the university.
Malcolm Scott, Newstead.
Pharmacy Rip-off
Having been in retail for most of my working life, I have always tried to support local businesses. Having recently moved to the North-West Coast from Launceston it was time to again support a local business with purchasing my prescribed medication. Having a script filled monthly it is easy to remember what you expect to pay. I was shocked when asked to pay 115 per cent more for this script than the last one. When mentioning to the assistant, what I paid monthly in Launceston, they said, "they did not want to know about it".
My life requires this medication and to be ripped off to the tune of $54.09 every month, this local business has lost me. This level of profiteering needs investigating.
Peter Spencer, Ulverstone.
Electric Cars
What do people have against electric cars? They are clean and very cheap to run.
Tesla makes an electric semi, so there would be models capable of providing all the power a tradie might need to tote his/her tools. And they will not cause blackouts when recharging, even en masse.
A quick check online shows that electric cars all draw a maximum of 7kWh in a domestic situation, less than the average heat pump. Everybody in town could simultaneously charge two at once without a blip.