They have been experimenting with keeping their consumption of resources and, notably their carbon dioxide output, to a minimum. In doing this they have found that their lives are much more simplified, much less stressed, and in several ways more rewarding.

Mark and Cathy found that the carbon emissions of the typical Indian slum dweller are about a tenth of those of the average Australian (23 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent).

When they were living in Australia they found that by experimenting with a low-carbon lifestyle it was a positive, and even enriching experience to reduce their emissions to 4.5 tonnes carbon dioxide equivalent.

However, the Delaneys also found that, typically, people are unconcerned about and "just not really interested" in global warming. We can thank our current crop of politicians, who commonly say things like "what difference can Australia make", for that.

Douglas Mackenzie, Deakin

Rolf Fenner of the Planning Institute ("Decongesting our cities," April 1) seems to think that the best way to decongest our cities is to build expensive, inflexible heavy rail networks. That can at best be only part of the solution.

The best long-term option is to redesign our cities so that we don't have to travel so far to reach our everyday destinations. That will reduce the distances that we travel by road and rail.

It will also bring more destinations within cycling or walking distance.

A useful short-term option is to make better use of our existing roads.

One way to do that is to designate one lane as a transit lane. That will allow vehicles that make efficient use of road space (i.e. buses and passenger-carrying cars) to avoid being delayed by driver-only vehicles that make inefficient use of road space.

Leon Arundell, Downer

Israel Folau says his threat to walk away from rugby is "... not about money or bargaining power or contracts. It's about what I believe in ... my faith is far more important to me than my career" (Canberra Times online, April 17).

If he believes that, fine, but his particular brand of faith doesn't fit with most Christians I know. Many don't even believe any more in a literal hell, let alone that gay people will end up there.

Folau is entitled to his beliefs, but not to express them in a way that displays biological ignorance and causes hurt.

Eric Hunter, Cook

It is encouraging to see Rugby Australia is gradually disentangling the issues in addressing Israel Folau's recent comments (Canberra Time, April 18, p40).

His comments had nothing to do with inclusion, but were simply stating, from his perspective, a biblical truth.

The confusing of issues and denunciation of Folau, in some quarters, are unfortunately a reflection of how muddle-headed and intolerant Australia has become.

R. T. Perry, Gowrie

When one reads the various suggestions on legalising marijuana, it all sounds eerily like the Americans with their prohibition of alcohol in the 1930s.

Once any substance like alcohol, heroin, etc. becomes difficult to obtain, criminals move in without the slightest hesitation. For as long as I can remember we have used similar products such as hashish, hemp, snuff, dope, grass, hash, bhang, locoweed or whatever.

If you want to legalise marijuana in a sensible way, it should be open slather. It should be available in supermarkets, bottle shops or grown at home in the veggie garden.

Any over-the-counter sales should be in packets with an appropriate health warning.

It is a harmful drug but no more than alcohol. Indeed much less than ice, heroin or morphine. The main crystal-clear objective is to keep criminals out of the supply chain.

Cigarettes, because of the warnings on the packets, are rapidly disappearing as part of everyday use. I have no doubt that marijuana will go the same way if it is readily available.

The main essential is to have a society that is comfortable to live in.

Howard Carew, Isaacs

Thank you so much for your article, "'I got home and nearly broke down": Bimberi youth worker speaks out", CT, April 15).

I have never worked with juveniles but suspect that the same dynamic I saw when I worked in an adult prison applies to an institution for young offenders.

You must not have sub proletarians supervising offenders. No, any facility you build for young people has to be small and it has to have upstanding, preferably well educated, people running it. Any real rehabilitative effort will thus cost money. A lot of it. However, such an expenditure will most certainly pay for itself in the long run.

Criminals cost society an astronomical amount. The best way of producing a lot more of them is to cram young trainee criminals into a zoo and hire society's losers to "supervise" them.

John Mason, Latham

How prescient Ian Warden was in Saturday's Canberra Times ("Medal for dumbing down goes to ...", Panorama, p2) though he picked the athletes for potential shame making instead of the organisers who caused a storm of condemnation with the excising of the athletes themselves from the closing ceremony!

And how right he is about the excess of attention given to the medal count.

Ann Darbyshire, Watson

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